


Deviant City

by TyChou



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game), Detroit: Become Human (Video Game) RPF
Genre: Android shenanigans, Character Arcs, Gen, Jericho family stuff, cop stuff, game sequel, human/android relationships, male friendships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-06
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:33:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 24,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27918268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TyChou/pseuds/TyChou
Summary: Directly after the end of the game, all happy endings:In the wake of their last stand, Markus and the Jeri-crew realize this is merely the beginning of their fight for equality. In order to strengthen their team, each must face their own inner demons before they can deal with the outer turmoil.Connor must decide whether he should join his fellow androids at Jericho or continue living in the world of humans with the Detroit police. Things become more complicated when he realizes Cyberlife isn't done with him yet. And he may not be the only RK800 out there.As much as Hank has tried to drown his past demons at the bottom of a beer bottle, that which he had been running from is eventually going to catch him.Detective Gavin Reed is put to the test when the most brutal unsolved case of his career comes back to haunt him.Meanwhile, a desperately sinking Cyberlife releases the RK900, the only android claimed to be "Deviancy Resistant."
Comments: 13
Kudos: 21





	1. Prologue

**Deviant City**

**By: Ty-Chou**

**Prologue**

As the seconds ticked into the first minutes of November 12th, 2038, it marked the beginning of the end for Cyberlife. Hank watched as Connor led an army of newly-deviated androids away from the tower and into the history books. He could not follow to see what happened next. He had to call this in.

It wasn't long before both uniformed officers and SWAT had surrounded Cyberlife Tower. When one of their own is threatened, the Detroit Police Department did not waste time. The lieutenant had been kidnapped and nearly murdered by an android that was Cyberlife property and who also seemed to be following Cyberlife orders. Whose orders exactly still remained unknown.

With it being the middle of the night, most of the regular Cyberlife staff were not present. Other than an inordinate amount of armed guards, including two dead in an elevator. Those that remained were rounded up and arrested without a fight. Officers had already been dispatched to the houses of Cyberlife CEOs and members of the board to get their asses out of bed.

Captain Fowler showed up during the sweep of each level. He stepped out of his car and marched up to Hank looking tired, angry, scared.

“What sort of shit show did you step into, Hank?”

He shook his head. “I've got no fucking clue.”

His captain looked him in the eye. “What happened?”

“An android showed up at my door. He looked just like Connor; said he needed my help.”

“And you went with him? After he broke into evidence and ran off to join the terrorist androids?”

Hank had not told his captain why he had gotten into a fight with Federal Agent Perkins. That it had been a distraction for Connor to act. Fowler hadn't asked, either. Perkins rubbed everyone the wrong way. There were more than a few officers who had been itching to clock him one. Hank, however, did earn a week unpaid suspension for his stunt.

“A terrorist group?” Hank argued. “After what just happened, is that what you think they are?” He brandished his phone. The singing androids, pleading to hold on just a little while longer in the face of a dozen weapons pointed at their heads was on every news feed. “We've been systematically wiping them out and they made their last stand here. Tonight. Because what was left of them didn't want to die.”

Fowler didn't say anything at first, just breathed out loudly, his breath fogging the winter air. Then his brows raised in realization as he looked at Hank. Maybe he did have an inkling as to why Hank had that fight with Perkins. If he did, he gave no comment. He just looked tired again.

“You're still on suspension. I want you to give your statement and then go home. We'll call you back to the station when we're ready for a follow-up interview.” He sighed again. “There's going to be a shit-ton of paperwork for this.”

Hank looked up at the tower as more armed guards were escorted out in cuffs. “Yeah, there is.”

* * *

As soon as it was over, Connor left them again. In and out of their lives just like that. North was both irritated and not surprised. He had appeared suddenly, threatening their lives and bringing the wrath of the federal government upon them, then immediately turned and vowed to help them. Markus did have that affect on others but North was still wary of such a quick change of loyalties. She was secretly relieved Connor would be sent to Cyberlife instead of joining the rest of them. Whether he succeeded or not; whether he would betray them or not—he would be doing it from an outside position.

As it turned out, Connor had saved them all. Even when the soldiers—guns pointed right at them for the kill shot—were told to lower their weapons, they all knew it was but a stay of execution. They wouldn't die here, but most likely would be arrested and held until someone changed their minds and decided the leaders of the resistance were too dangerous to remain alive.

But with Connor's appearance and his army of thousands of androids, the sheer number of them overwhelmed the humans enough that they lost their confidence and retreated to a safe distance. Connor even remained with them, standing on the platform behind Markus while he gave his speech. A grand, inspiring speech, as always.

North wouldn't take her eyes of the newcomer though. And Connor was strangely twitchy over there. Was he glitching? She thought for a moment he had reached for a gun. But as quickly as her fear rose, he resumed a relaxed pose, no weapon in his hand. Had she misunderstood what she was looking at? North wasn't sure, but she vowed to keep an eye on him.

Not that she needed to for long. As soon as it was over, Connor told them he had to go.

“Go where?” Josh had asked. “There's nowhere else to go.”

Connor's LED flickered into yellow before going back to blue. “I have somewhere else I need to be. I said I would be there.”

North was immediately suspicious again. She was about to demand more information when Markus reached out his hand. A very human gesture. But Markus had always been very human since the moment she met him.

“I wish you good luck,” Markus said to Connor. “Thank you for all you've done.” They shook hands. “Will we see you again?”

“I don't know,” Connor replied carefully then looked around him. “I honestly don't know what's going to happen from here.”

“You and me both,” Markus replied. He had sounded so confident and proud a moment before, addressing his people. Now he was hesitant again. And scared.

If North was honest with herself, so was she. And as soon as Connor left them, it was immediately apparent to the four android leaders that how they had been doing business before was no longer an option.

The luxury of living somewhere secret was gone. No way thousands of androids could slip off into the safety of the shadows. They had to publicly lead the way back to the dilapidated church where they had fled after Jericho's destruction. Back then, the building easily housed the small number of survivors. Now, androids still spilled out into the streets. Their pristine, new Cyberlife uniforms glowing brighter than the snow. Behind them, media vans followed and armed soldiers waited.

North glared at them from the second story of the church, peering out a broken stained-glass window. She glanced over when Markus stood next to her.

“It's not over, is it?” North said, still glaring at the humans. “We're still in danger. We still have guns pointed at us. They're not shooting, but they know where we live. We can't hide anymore. We're just open targets. I don't know if this is better or worse than what we had before.”

“It won't be over for a very long time,” Markus said as he followed her gaze. The calm of his voice settled the electric anxiety inside her. How did he always have that affect on her? “Maybe it won't ever be over. But it can be better. We just have to keep working for that better. We can't quit now.”

“Hold on just a little while longer?” she asked softly.

Markus leaned into her and she closed her eyes as she felt the brush of his kiss in her hair. A soft glow stoked itself inside her. A tiny light that had managed to form in the darkness of her pain and hate.

“The church is full to capacity, but this whole block is abandoned buildings,” he then said. “We need to get the rest of these androids to shelter. Josh and Simon are already working on it, but they'll need help. Put androids in every possible place we can. Get them off the street. Make sure there are older Deviants with the new. We're already having problems with the new ones from Cyberlife wandering off when they're not being watched.”

“Baby deviants,” North muttered. A whole army of them. No, the work was nowhere close to finished. “And what are we going to do about them?” She nodded to the media and soldiers.

“I'm going to talk to them.”

Fear jumped into her chest. “Are you serious? Markus. Just because we survived doesn't mean we're safe.”

He paused to glance at her, then turned back around. “I know.”

* * *

Just as they had watched before, the world watched again. It was on every channel as the massive amount of androids in their starched white uniforms were slowly absorbed into the neighborhood around them.

When all the androids were properly sheltered, Markus stepped from the church alone. In a flurry of camera flashes, he strode toward the newly cordoned area set up by the military. He walked out into the street and up to the new barricade, stopping just a few feet away. He was alone, unarmed and covered in thirium from fresh bullet wounds.

Again, weapons were pointed at him, but he knew that for the moment, there was no order to fire as long as he remained peaceful.

“This neighborhood was abandoned by the humans,” he announced to all who would listen. “We would like to live here. We will not hide, we will not run. We will not plot against your people. We will merely live here and take care of our own. If anyone needs to find me, I too shall be here.”

Silence was the response. The media was dumbfounded at first, until one anchorwoman found her voice.

“Markus, when you first appeared on TV, you had many demands of the human race. Have those demands changed? What do you want now?”

The deviant leader, no longer before his people in order to give them courage and hope, was not the same android that had broken into the Stratford tower. He looked to the cameras humbly.

“I have no demands, only one request. Please stop killing us. We don't want to die.”

* * *

As Hank asked, when it was all over, Connor met him at the Chicken Feed. He didn't have to, Hank said. Connor was allowed to stay with his own kind if he preferred. But Hank would wait until dawn if Connor decided he wanted to go with him instead of with Markus. Connor, having been deviated himself for almost thirty-two hours, wasn't sure if it was his decision, or if he was still following the orders of his superior. There hadn't been any time before to consider what deviation meant or how it changed him. He merely went where he was compelled to go.

As the sun rose over the cityscape of Detroit, Connor saw Hank waiting for him. By dawn's light, Hank smiled and Connor couldn't help but smile back. Trying to imitate the smile of a human seemed so hard before. Now it came easily. He approached his partner and the human surprised him with an embrace. It was a new sensation. He had never been held before like this. It was brief but...nice. Comforting.

Connor filed it all away as he had filed everything else that had happened that night. Tucked in a small corner of his processor. The Jericho raid, his deviation. His decision to go against his makers. The ride to the Cyberlife Tower on Belle Isle. The human guards he killed to get to the other androids inside. Hank's capture; the death of his double. Meeting Markus outside with a newly-deviated army. Saving his kind from extinction.

It was a lot to process and Connor had pushed it all into the dark, tightly packed and waiting to be analyzed and processed. He usually conducted a full data analysis every twenty-four to forty-eight hours, depending on caseload and schedule. It was necessary for his job to take every visual, audible and textile piece of data gathered from the day and comb through it, analyze it. Identify, code and file all pertinent information and evidence.

He had not done that since he deviated. But he knew that he should. This was important information. Actions that had changed his life forever, changed the world forever. But in doing so, he wouldn't just have to code and file, he would have to _feel_. He would be forced to examine the emotional toll of his actions and he wasn't ready to handle the weight of it.

But he knew it was coming as he sat in the car while Hank drove them to his house. As an exhausted Hank called his apologies as he dragged himself to his bedroom to sleep. Connor knew his programming would force it eventually. But for just a little while longer, he wanted to live in limbo where he was alive and everything was...fine.

It was fine as Hank slept and the house fell silent. Connor stood in the stillness for several minutes. No sound, no thoughts. It was still fine. He decided to clean, though it wasn't in his protocols. He threw away empty beer bottles and take-out boxes. He loaded the dishwasher and wiped off the counters. He took out the trash and then let Sumo out into the backyard to do his business.

It was mid-morning now. The sun was thinly veiled by clouds as it started to snow again. Connor watched the sky, watched the fat flakes fall around him, felt them land on his face. His thoughts should have turned to Markus and Jericho. He should have at least wondered what they would do now. What _he_ would do now. But he couldn't think about it at all. It was as if none of it existed in that moment. It was just him, the sky and the snow.

Sumo waddled back into the house on his own, his wagging tail hitting the door frame on his way in. Connor eventually followed and shut the door behind him. Without anything else to do, he sat himself on the couch. Sat and stared in the silence. Everything was fine for another hour and another, then another.

Then, suddenly, light flashed on all the things he had pushed up in that dark corner and Connor's world wasn't so fine anymore.

* * *

“Oh good, you're awake.”

Gavin looked up as patrol officer Tina Chen stepped into his hospital room. She was in uniform and had a silver balloon with her that boldly read “Get better, idiot!” in pink letters.

He grinned at the present. “Nice. Is that referring to my recovery or my job?”

“Both. But more on the latter. Only you, on the night everyone in the city is watching the whole fucking world turn upside down, would be passed out in a hospital because some icer stabbed you in the gut while on a bad trip.”

He tried to sit up a bit more, wincing at the stitches in his side. “Yeah, well you know, if I didn't have bad luck, I'd have no luck at all. They keep those balloons in the gift shop?”

“Nah, after knowing you, I had them made special. I knew I'd have occasion to use them sooner or later.” She paused and motioned to her eye. “This isn't from the stabbing.”

Gavin frowned as he fingered the tender purple bruise around his eye. “No, it was from Goddamn Connor.”

“Lieutenant Anderson's android? It punched you?”

“Kicked my ass, actually. I guess you didn't hear it broke into evidence. I tried to stop him and then he cleaned my clock. No one was sure what he was after, but last I heard, they assumed it was trying to get rid of something incriminating for Cyberlife. Which makes sense. I mean, that android was on loan from them, right? They were still pulling the strings.”

“Oh, that's not what happened. Have you not seen all this shit that happened last night?”

“I saw it,” Gavin insisted as Tina pulled out her phone. “It's the only thing that's on TV.”

“Even this?” she handed him the phone, a video already playing. “Look in the right corner.”

It was yet another recording of Markus' speech outside the camp. But in the corner...

“Connor! What the hell is he doing?”

“Who knows anymore. I guess androids are sentient now with their own priorities, making their own choices.”

Gavin made a sound of disgust. “Then the world's going to shit.”

“You think so?”

“It can't be a good thing to have machines running around, doing what they want. I know you've seen The Terminator.”

Tina took back her phone. “If Cyberlife's suppose to be Skynet, they're all in cuffs right now.”

“No kidding? What happened with that? A buncha androids made citizens arrests?”

“They had an android kidnap Lieutenant Anderson. Nearly killed him.”

“What?” Gavin's voice rose an octave. “What the hell's been happening while I was out?”

She patted his leg. “I guess we're all going to be finding out in the next few days. The world's never going to be the same.”

“I guess not.” Gavin stared at the far wall, looking both angry and overwhelmed.

The room was quiet for a few moments, then Tina began to fidget.

“Hey, um, I wanted to let you know...I passed the detective exam.”

The energy in the room suddenly changed as Gavin lit up. “Chen! That's great! You were so worried about it, but I told you, you'd ace it easy. Didn't I say that?”

She tried not to grin, but her whole body language showed she was elated. “You did. You were right.”

“I know. I'm always right. You gonna join me in homicide?”

“Probably not. Taylor's got an opening in vice. He said he's saving me a spot.”

“Taylor's a self-satisfied prick. He just wants you as an addition to his circle jerk.”

“I know. But I've been working with vice for months already because of my beat. Already got good CI's in useful places. I think I'm going to do very well there.”

Gavin smiled. “I think you are, too. Though I'll be sad I won't see you as often.”

“I'll still be around to give you shit. Promise.”

Gavin winced as he attempted to get up. “Okay, find my pants and my coat. I'm going to go buy you a beer. We've got to celebrate this.”

“Uh...I don't think you can just walk out like that.”

“Sure I can.” He swung his legs over the side of the bed and began to fiddle with his IV. “What are they going to do? Handcuff me to the bed?”

As he spoke, a large woman in scrubs walked into the room. Her eyes widened at the sight. “Detective Reed, what are you doing?”

“I'm fine. I'm getting out of here.”

The nurse's voice suddenly took a dangerous tone. “The hell you are.”

“Look, it's fine if I—”

“Out there you may think you're a big man, but in here you do what I say. Now, get your ass back in bed before I break my foot off in it.”

That tone was enough to caused both seasoned cops to pause. Neither was brave enough to challenge that.

Gavin raised his hands in surrender. “Fine. I'm going.”

He gingerly pulled his feet back up and the nurse quickly tucked him in in case he had any second thoughts.

“There, that's better,” the nurse said, voice all sweet now. “You stay there and I'll get you a pudding cup.”

“I want chocolate,” Gavin called after her.

Tina just grinned.

* * *

Hank dreamed of a house full of noise. Of happy, warm voices and laughter. Of little feet charging around the hardwood floor, followed by the clatter of puppy paws. He dreamed of running water and pale, soft hands working at the kitchen sink while a rich voice hummed. He dreamed of light and warmth and sounds of life in the house, and everything was good. Perfect.

Then the light grayed out. The sounds faded one by one. Life left the house and it was dark and dismal. The colors washed out and it turned silver, sterile. No life existed here, though there was still movement down the impossibly long corridors with white walls. There was the whir of machinery, the creak of robotic joints, the sounds of metal on metal.

There was a sea of bodies standing in row after row, wearing crisp white uniforms. None of them alive.

There was Connor—a snake with Connor's face—standing above him with a gun in his face. He pulled the trigger and Hank woke up with a quick inhale. It was dark in his bedroom. It had been light outside when he passed out that morning. Hank remained motionless in bed, letting the gravity of the past few days along with his near-brush with death wash over him.

He listened to the sounds of the house. Everything was eerily quiet. He glanced at his clock. Only a little after five. Connor had come home with him that morning. Was he still in the house? It didn't sound like it. Where the hell did that android think he would go after his face was flashed all over the news?

Hank sat up with a heavy sigh, setting his feet on the floor. Where was Sumo? He usually slept next to the bed. With Hank out for a good ten hours, that dog should have been pestering him to be let out by now.

He stood and turned on the bedroom light. No Sumo. He walked out into the dark hallway and listened.

“Sumo.”

At the sound of his name, the heavy thump of a dog's tail could be heard, but he wasn't getting up at his master's call. That was odd for him. Hank walked into the living room and flipped on the light. He found Connor was indeed still at the house. The android lay on the floor, curled up in front of the couch and hugging his knees. Sumo lay next to him, head on the floor and watching Connor's face with soulful eyes. At Hank's approach, the dog wined slightly, but did not get up.  
“Connor, what's this?”

The android was silent for a moment, then let out a groan as if he were physically in pain. “What have I done?” he moaned into the floor.

Hank came around the back of the couch. “What do you mean what have you done?”

“Everything. Everything that's happened. I...I can't even process. I turned _deviant_ , Hank. I was never supposed to. I _killed_ people last night.”

“You did it to save my life. Cyberlife sent one of their own androids to kidnap a police officer. Someone in that place has gone off their rocker. I could have died, but you came for me.”

Connor still wouldn't look at him. “I didn't know you were there.”

“You came only for the androids,” Hank realized.

“Yes. And Cyberlife knew I was coming. They knew they couldn't control me anymore.” He shut his eyes as Amanda's face flickered across his vision. He escaped the Zen Garden in his mind, but had he escaped her? “It's my fault you were taken, that you could have died. I'm so sorry, Hank.”

The old cop sighed and scratched his ass. “Okay, fine. It was a rough night. But crying about it isn't going to fix anything. What's done is done.”

Connor slowly sat up, but remained on the floor. “And all those androids. I released an actual army last night. What's going to happen now? I changed everything. The world is never going to be the same again.”

Hank raised a brow. “Isn't it? I'll tell you what Connor, no matter what happened last night, people all over this country—including Detroit—still got up, put their pants on and went to work like any other day. Humankind may have to reexamine some of their beliefs and we all might have to figure out where to go from here, but life still goes on. It's going to go on for us, too. That is, if you still want there to be an us.”

Connor stood, looking unsure, but meeting Hank's gaze. “You mean us still being partners? I could keep my job? Even after all the things I did?”

“If you want it, we'll try. I can't make any promises about the job, but I'll help you the best I can.”

“I would like that.”

Hank slapped him hard on the back. “Okay then. When we talk to the captain, we'll just emphasize the saving my life part over the other things.”

Connor was quiet for a moment and then said, “Back at the Cyberlife tower, I had freed all the other androids there. Every one that I could fine. But I couldn't find the other RK800s, the others like me.”

“Like you? I thought there was only one of you.”

“There were other RK800 bodies. Blank slates that I would download into if I was 'killed' during a mission.”

Hank looked confused. “But if they're blank, they're not actual people like the other androids, right? They're just empty vessels for you?”

Connor plopped himself onto the old, beaten couch. “Honestly, I'm not sure. I just know there were bodies kept in the tower and now they're gone.”

“Destroyed? Or..?”

“I don't know. Cyberlife may have dissembled the others after sending the one that came for you. Or they still have them somewhere else. I'm not sure.”

“I'll let the captain know so we can add them to any search warrants.”

Connor looked up at his partner. “Most other androids have many, many out there just like them. But I am alone, Hank. I am possibly the only RK800 in the world.”

The human sat his greater weight on the couch next to him. “You are the only you there is. Welcome to being human. And you're not alone. You have your partner, you have your precinct. We take care of each other, okay?”

Connor looked up as Hank put a hand on his shoulder. “Okay, Hank. Thank you.”

* * *

They spent what was left of the day discussing what exactly they were going to tell Captain Fowler when they went back to the precinct. The more Connor talked of the things he had done—all the little things Hank would have to lie about for him—the more he became in awe of this human fate had thrust him upon.

Hank had begun this journey hating androids; hating him. Now he was willing to lie for Connor. Hank made the decision without blinking. He was putting his career on the line for an android, one he had only known only a week. Why?

When Connor asked him about this, Hank leaned back on the couch with a self-conscious huff.

“Because,” he said. For a moment, it seemed like that was all he was going to say. Then he added, “For the first time in a long time I finally care about something again.”

“Me?”

Hank frowned. “Maybe. I mean, you still saved my life.”

Connor furrowed his brows, LED flickering in thought. “I'm sorry, Hank. What does that mean, exactly? That you care about me?”

“What? Don't you know? You're a deviant now, right?”

“To be honest, I'm not entirely sure what being a deviant entails. I am able to make my own decisions, but I don't feel like I suddenly know so much more. All I am aware of now is how much I don't know about being deviant—about being alive. It's...sort of scary: being alive.”

“Yes it is.”

“Can it get better?”

“Yes, on the good days.”

“What can I do to make it better?”

Hank let out a long breath, looking tired. “How about we take it one day at a time? We start with the simple stuff. You say you want to keep your job?”

“Yes, sir. I...like working for the department. I enjoy it.”

“What about it do you enjoy? Homicide is a brutal business.”

“I like building the case. Finding the clues, tracking down suspects. Bringing the bad guys to justice.” Connor paused and looked to Hank for approval.

He nodded. “That's fine. Though there's a possibility you're done working for the police. Android or not, your career may have been over when you went into the evidence locker without authorization.”

“I did not take anything. I used the clues to find Jericho. Technically, I aided in the FBI's investigation and Jericho was successfully located and infiltrated.”

“Yeah, but don't be a wise ass about it. You also killed two Cyberlife guards. We'll argue it was self-defense and to save my life, but I honestly don't know what will happen. I guess first step would be to make sure you don't get arrested for it.”

Connor's thirium pump skipped in fear. He was still getting used to that sensation. “Should I not go to the station then?”

“That's your call, Connor. Though if you're not going to go in, you'll have to go back to Markus. I can't harbor you here. And that still won't mean the police won't eventually come for you with an arrest warrant. Part of being alive is having to face the consequences of your own actions. If you want any chance of getting your job back, we have to go to the station and offer some kind of explanation of what you've been doing. They may take you into custody.”

“I understand.”

“If they do, I'll still help you. Get you a lawyer if we need to. You're welcome to think on it. Going to live with your kind is not a bad choice.”

“Isn't it, Hank? Isolating ourselves from humans when we want them to accept us seems like the wrong way to go about it.”

Connor wasn't sure, but Hank may have looked just a tiny bit proud of him.

“Maybe so. I have to go into the station tomorrow morning for my own questioning. You decide whether or not you're coming with me by then.”

“Yes, sir.”

And they left it at that for the moment. Each needed their own time to sort themselves out. Hank went to fix himself something to eat while catching up on all the news he had missed while he slept. Connor watched for a little bit. He hadn't been watching the news feeds either while he spent the day wallowing in his own pit of self-discovered despair.

In the wake of Markus and his plea for the killing to stop, a new top news story came out of Denver, Colorado. After the president's halt of android genocide, someone had alerted the local media to a hospital who had been secretly giving sanctuary to androids in their basement. The day before, it was federal mandate that all androids, no matter their ownership or position, be turned into the government to be deactivated. But during that time, this hospital did not comply.

The day before the mandate, when public concern about androids was growing, it wasn't unheard of for androids to be demolished in the street. Shot, run over, beaten into pieces. Videos of people finding new and creative ways to destroy their androids littered the internet. Along with public announcements on every website and streaming service asking the public to turn in their androids for the safety of mankind.

In the wake of this, two androids appeared at a small urgent care facility with a newborn baby they had found abandoned in an alley dumpster. In Colorado, the winter was already in full force. If the child had been left out in the elements any longer, it would have died. While some androids could pass as human if they disguised themselves well enough, these two did not have the luxury.

“We could see that they were androids,” one of the nurses told the news. “They were damaged, especially in their faces. Someone had hurt them. And yet, they showed themselves to us for the sake of this baby. We knew we couldn't let them go back out after that. We take care of everyone who walks through those doors who needs help.”

“You weren't afraid that the androids would turn on you?” the news anchor asked.

“No, why would we? They're domestic androids. We built them to love and take care of our children. They did what we made them to do. They put this precious baby's life over their own.” She wiped a tear from her eye. “How could we fear them for that?”

“What about the incident in Detroit back in August? A domestic model turned a gun on the family, killing the father and nearly throwing the daughter off a building?”

“I don't know. I can't say what happened there. All I can say is that I looked at these androids and I saw they were good and they needed help. We weren't about to turn them away.”

“That's good,” Hank said to the TV. “I hope more stories like this start coming out. We need them.”

“I was there,” Connor said in a small voice.

“What?” he asked, turning down the TV to listen.

“The incident mentioned on the news with the little girl. I was there, trying to talk that android into not killing her. He had killed the father because he found out he was being replaced with a newer model.” Connor looked from the screen to the lieutenant. “Not all androids are good, Hank. That little girl loved him more than anything and he was willing to kill her for something that wasn't her fault. I looked into that android's eyes and...he wasn't a good person, Hank. There are going to be androids out there like him that will hurt others because that's the kind of person they are.”

“Just like humans,” Hank said.

“Yes, I'm afraid so.”

The conversation stopped after that. Neither knew what else to say to the other. Connor eventually stood and walked into the bathroom. He inspected himself under the bright lights of the mirror and reflexively straitened his collar and tie. There were a few drops of blood on his jacket. That would need to be turned in tomorrow as evidence. There was no question that he was going to the station with Hank. It was the only thing he could imagine to do. It was with Markus and the other androids where he felt he had no place. If he went back there, what exactly was he supposed to do with himself?

Connor leaned on the sink and inspected himself closer in the mirror. Looked deep into his own eyes. For the first time in his life, he wondered what was in there. What was he now, as a deviant android? One moment he was not alive and then next he was? What did that mean? Did he have a soul somewhere in there? He looked exactly the same as he always had. How was he different now? Shouldn't there be some solid evidence of what he had become?

“Connor! Connor, get your ass in here, now!”

From the urgency of his voice, Connor raced from the bathroom, nearly sliding on the rug in the hall in his haste.

“What? What happened?”

Hank had a news story paused and pushed play on the remote. “Look at this.”

A section of the screen was blue, the banner of the station's logo at the bottom with the caption 'Actual Recording.'

“Android, you will give me your model and serial number,” said a man's voice on the recording. Captions spelled out the conversation on the blue screen.

“I'm a...my name is Connor.”

Connor nearly tripped over the couch as he backed up. “That's my voice. That's me.”

The recording was cut to another line.

“You know there's no way I can let androids leave that camp,” the human man's voice said. “This is where the president has ordered all androids to be. We can't disobey orders, can we?”

“No, sir,” Connor's voice responded. “I don't want to disobey, and I don't want to hurt anyone. But I also don't want to die.”

The emotion he heard in his own voice but not his own words would have caused the fine hairs on his neck to rise if Connor was human.

“What is this? Where did this happen?”

“Chicago. They say a team of androids infiltrated one of the places where they were killing androids. They captured all the guards and kept the camp at a standstill until Warren gave the order to let them go. This was the same night you went to Cyberlife. You and the actions of your friends saved them.”

Connor blindly pawed for the remote, unable to take his eyes off the screen. “Is there more? Play it again.” He had to hear his voice once more. He couldn't identify the slurry of emotions it caused in him, but he needed to hear it. There was another Connor out there somewhere. He wasn't the only RK800.

His memory flashed back to a conversation with Amanda.

“I'm not a unique model, am I? How many Connors are there?”

Amanda refused to answer. But that question was what pushed Connor to search for others at Cyberlife Tower. Now he knew there was one out there in another city. Another Connor. Life as a deviant was quickly getting more complicated by the minute.

* * *

The next morning, Hank drove them down to the precinct. Connor had nearly forgotten all about it in the wake of his new discovery. After playing the sound bite of his own voice on the TV over and over, Connor took to the internet looking for more. Other stations played other pieces of the recording. When that wasn't enough, he scoured the internet for more. It took a lot of digging, but he eventually found the full recording of the soldiers stationed outside the hostaged android camp.

The entire recording was nearly three hours long and very little of it interested Connor. Only the two conversations that happened between the human named on the recording as Sargent Scott Adams and the android Connor. He listened carefully to every word, even inflection of tone from the android. The part he listened to more than all the others was a passionate burst of emotion from the RK80, pleading his case to let them all go.

“What am I supposed to do, Sir? What can I say for you to understand that we are alive? We aren't human, but we are people. We think, we feel, we love. We don't want to hurt anyone in order to stay alive, but none of us want to die tonight. _I_ don't want to die. I haven't been alive very long. There's so much I still want to learn, to feel.” Here, the voice trembled in his passion. “I'm afraid of having it all end before I'm ready. And I can't... I can't leave her all alone. Not yet. She needs me to protect her and I can't do that if I'm dead.”

_She needs me._

That Connor in Chicago wasn't alone. He had someone. Perhaps a partner like him? Someone he met while on the job? Someone he cared about, that much was clear. He played the recording for Hank at breakfast. Hank agreed that it was good this Connor in Chicago was not alone.

“And maybe it's good the world has more than one Connor,” he added.

Connor wasn't sure what that meant, but he didn't ask.

As they drove to the station Hank asked, “Do you want to find him? That android that's like you?”

Connor blinked a few times at the question. “I'm...not sure. He and the other androids were able to leave the camp safely. More than likely he's currently okay.”

“But he's a...RK whatever, like you. Isn't that what you wanted to find? More of your own model?”

“Yes, in a way. Though I was looking for the blank androids who hadn't been assimilated into the Connor project yet. They are the ones who would need my help the most.”

Hank frowned as he slowed for a traffic light. “I didn't understand a word of that.”

“Any RK800s I found at the tower would have been like the rest of the androids. No past memories, only a fresh processor waiting to gain new information. They would have been their own androids, separate from the 'Connor' program I was a part of.

“Being a prototype as I was, I was gathering information to help Cyberlife perfect the type of android they wanted me to be. In order to do this, it wouldn't be helpful if I was damaged on the job and they would have to start all over again. So every piece of information was downloaded into a backup file. If I am killed, all of me is still in the computer. I am merely downloaded into another RK800 shell.”

“Like when you took that bullet for me at the Stratford Tower,” Hank said. “I thought you had died, but then you came back like nothing had happened.”

“I may have lost a little memory between backup sessions, but I was mostly as I was before. But what if someone took my old damaged body and managed to fix it and send it to Chicago? He wouldn't just be the same model as me, he would _be_ me. Or, more accurately, I would be him. He would have been a model used before me. We would share the same past memories, but then he would be sent on a new path and me, a copy of him, was then sent on my path to you.”

Hank didn't speak for a long time after. Connor wondered whether or not he should ask if Hank heard everything he said. The lieutenant finally spoke as they pulled into the parking lot behind the police building.

“I still don't think I understood everything you said, but after we get this all squared away, if you want to find him, I'll help you.”

“I'm honestly not sure what I should do, but I'll let you know when I figure it out.”

* * *

Walking through the precinct was a completely different experience. On Connor's first day, he was hardly even noticed unless he specifically talked to someone. Back then, only a little more than a week ago, an android like him was invisible. Now, as he and Hank walked past the bullpen, it seemed every single pair of eyes was aware of him.

Even the captain noticed them. He immediately stood from his chair and hurried to the door of his glass office.

“Hank,” he called, stopping the lieutenant in his tracks and gesturing him over.

“Yeah?”

“Why is that android here?”

“To give a statement about the other night, just like me. Hey, I heard IA might get involved in this. Should I call my union rep?”

Fowler just stared blankly at him for a moment and then shook himself. “My office, both of you.”

Hank and Connor shared a look and then followed into the glass office. Everyone in the area could see just who the captain had with him and several were trying not to actively stare as they conversed.

Fowler sat on the edge of his desk motioning the two to sit in the chairs before him.

“Hank, when I talked to you the other night, I thought I understood what was going on.” The captain gave an emphatic look to Connor. “I feel like I'm missing something. What is the android doing back here?”

“I work here,” Connor said with pragmatism. “This is my job. I returned to report to my supervisor and so he brought me to the station.”

Fowler's mouth opened, but no sound came out for several seconds. “You're not an officer of the law.”

“No, I am a mobile forensic unit. I assist your detective with crime scenes and anything else he may need while he works his cases.”

“You should be arrested.”

“Why is that, Captain?”

“You broke into evidence.”

“I did not take anything. Merely used the evidence to aid the FBI in finding the deviant's hideout, which I successfully did.”

“I took you off the case.”

“You took the lieutenant off the case.”

“ _You_ were told to go back to Cyberlife.”

“Which I did, after I had done my job.”

“You killed two people.”

“In self defense. They would have killed me and they had taken Lieutenant Anderson hostage. I saved his life.”

“You then stole millions of dollars of Cyberlife property.”

“Impossible.”

Fowler frowned. “The world saw you on TV leading all the androids you took from that tower.”

“You cannot have it both ways, Captain. If I am to be arrested, that would make me a person, as well as all the androids at the tower. A person cannot steal other people who leave of their own free will. If the androids are property, then I too am property, and property cannot steal property.”

Unable to come up with a retort, Fowler looked to Hank who merely gave him a non-committal shrug.

“If I may,” Connor continued, “since I work for the police department, my job is to protect and serve the public. Due to recent statements from our president, I believe androids also fall under that category. I was at Cyberlife to protect both my human partner and android civilians that night.”

“What's going on with Cyberlife anyway?” Hank asked. “You find out who sent that Connor impostor after me?”

The captain suddenly looked tired. “Of course no one's claiming any knowledge of this 'rogue android' as they're calling it.” He glanced at Connor. “They're the ones trying to have it both ways. On one hand, they say that you broke in and stole their inventory. On the other, they want to say the android made its own decision to kidnap a police officer and it was out of their hands. As of now, we don't have evidence for either side. Our cyber forensics team is still combing through a whole lot of Cyberlife data. Who knows what we'll find.”

Hank nodded his head thoughtfully, arms folded across his chest.

“Alright,” Fowler then sighed in acceptance. “Since you two are here, we'll take both your statements. In separate rooms. Hank, you'll go to interrogation one. Connor, you'll be in room two.”

“I also have my personal recordings I'd like to submit into evidence,” Connor volunteered.

“Good. We'll take it.”

“What should I do after, Captain, since my supervisor is on suspension?”

Fowler looked so incredulous at the question, Hank almost laughed. Welcome to working with an RK800. “No. _Both_ of you are on suspension until we figure this out.”

Hank looked surprised at that.

“Does that mean I still have a job here?” Connor asked as he stood.

“I don't know. Just...don't come back here unless you're called in.”

* * *

“What do you think is going to happen? To me, I mean?” Connor wondered he watched Hank scan a small cart-full of items at the grocery self-checkout. Some of the items were actual food. Most of it was alcohol.

“What do you mean?” Hank asked, hefting another six-pack onto the scanner.

“If I'm not allowed back at the precinct, what am I supposed to do? That's the job I was programmed for.”

“You could still go back with the other androids you helped, right?”

“I don't know, maybe.”

“Don't you want to be with your own people?”

Connor was silent, unsure how to answer. His LED flickered into yellow in his personal distress.

“Well, you've got a week to do some soul searching,” Hank then said as he paid for his groceries and booze. “Now that you have your own life, it's up to you to decide how to live it; what you want to gain from it.”

Two began walking toward the exit.

“I see,” Connor replied in a daze. He had never been given so much freedom. This lack of structure and direction was overwhelming; disconcerting. Frightening.

He blindly followed Hank out into the chilly air. As he stepped out, a female form walked in. A horribly familiar image of dark skin, sharp eyes and a severe expression.

_Amanda!_

True fear gripped him and Connor spun around. He expected himself to be pulled back to the Zen Garden, to be held under her command again. He thought he was free, but it had been a trick. Maybe this, too, was a trick and he was still trapped deep within his own mind.

“Connor, what are you looking at?”

The android blinked. No Amanda. Everything was normal.

“Nothing. I'm coming.”

With thirium pump racing in trepidation, Connor followed Hank to the car.


	2. Chapter One: Left in Storage

**Deviant City**

**By: Ty-Chou**

**Chapter One: Left in Storage**

**Three Weeks Later – Early December 2038**

Markus stood over the dead body of another android left at their doorstep in the dark hours. The December breeze teased a dusting of white over the foot and tire tracks left near the back of their neighborhood. Not the first time a mangled android body had been left outside of the Jericho community. Unfortunately, it probably wouldn't be the last. As usual, the victim was one of the androids from Cyberlife Tower. The 'Babies' North often called them. The androids with no life experience. Deviated from day one, they were a lot like toddlers. Curious, fearless, didn't listen to anything.

Androids programmed to follow orders—exist under the complete direction of their owners—had been given absolute freedom. Markus did not impose on any of his fellow androids' personal rights. They were free to come and go from the neighborhood as they pleased. However, those who had been around before the revolution understood what the human world was like. The tower androids did not.

They were substantially warned about the dangers, but many left anyway to see for themselves. Most did come back; some a little wiser than before. A small number were found as dead bodies. Some never came back at all.

North was in a rage when the body was brought inside. The android had been mutilated by blunt, physical trauma. The face was mangled, the chest a bloody blue mess and the thirium regulator removed.

“Those bastards can't keep doing this to us!” she growled as she paced around the room like a caged tiger. “Why the hell did we go through all that if they're still allowed to kill us whenever they want?”

“We tell our people over and over that they're safe here,” Simon replied. “They know they have no such protection if they leave the neighborhood. It's their choice. We can't lock them up and force them to stay.”

“We shouldn't have to be prisoners in our own home, Simon! Haven't we bleed enough, lost enough lives already to be able to walk around in the city without the fear of being murdered?”

“It's still not illegal to kill an android,” Josh said quietly from where he sat in the corner. “Until that changes, we will always be in danger.”

“Then we change it. We go back out there like we did before. We make them change it.”

“No one's going back out,” Markus said loudly. His eyes had never left the body of the dead android as it lay on the table before them. “It's not safe and I'm tired of being shot at, of seeing our people die. I'm tired of being covered in thirum, of leaving the bodies of our fallen comrades to be thrown in the trash while we run for our lives. We have androids who have no idea what that's like and I want to keep it that way. Some of us should remain innocent and hopeful. Especially since all android production in the country has stopped. They very well could be the last of us.”

North walked over and squeezed his arm. “I understand. I agree with everything you said, but stopping the fight now could easily allow everything to go back the way it was. We have to hold the line.”

Markus stepped back, his eyes flashing with emotion. “How, North? We've already tried everything. We have told the world we are alive time and again. We have protested and marched and fought. We have begged for our safety and our lives. I don't know what else we can try. What am I supposed to do or say that I haven't already done? And how can I do it in a way where we don't lose anyone else?”

The room went silent as North tried to recover. Markus had never snapped at her like that before. She understood his frustration wasn't necessarily with her; she shared that same frustration and fear. But it still hurt to have his voice raised in her direction.

“You know...we aren't the only ones out there,” Josh spoke up in the stillness. “Detroit isn't the only place with androids. Why aren't we reaching out to others? Networking? Bringing androids all across the country together? Maybe they won't listen to thousands of voices, but what about hundreds of thousands of voices?”

“What do you mean? How are we going to communicate?”

“The internet,” Josh said simply. “That's where a lot of the discussion is. There are online communities that are pro android. They are having the conversations we want to see about our rights and our freedoms. People from all over the country—all over the world communicate like this.”

“People,” North pointed out. “Humans.”

“Well, yes. Though, there are androids, too—”

“No! We did not survive them just to let them in, Josh! Are you crazy?”

“No. You know what's crazy, North? This!” He motioned to the dilapidated building around them. Rotted walls, ceiling full of holes. “We've been hiding here for three weeks, scared and useless. How is this any different than before in Jericho? We've gathered our people, but now we're just waiting until the thirium runs out. We can't go on like this forever. We can't _live_ like this. We need allies. _Human_ allies. We can't have our world and their world. It has to be everyone's world.”

“Never,” North hissed. “I don't want to touch one—look at one—ever again.”

“North,” Josh tried.

Markus touched her shoulder and she instantly shrugged it off and stormed out. Markus moved to go after her, but Simon moved faster.

“I've got it.” He locked eyes with Markus. “You know my vote. We have to do something, even if it will be tough on her. She can take it. She's strong and she has all of us.”

Markus looked regretful as Simon went after North, then he turned his attention to Josh. He learned very quickly that being in charge of the welfare of so many meant hard decisions. But he was tired of every decision being so hard.

“What do you suggest?”

“We start with one group,” Josh said. “We establish contact, share information, learn what they know.”

“Sounds like you've already got a group in mind.”

“Chicago is said to be one of the most accepting cities of androids. It's coming out more and more that people knew about deviancy even before us. Many knew about it there because they were already living with androids as members of their families. They have one of the most successful android outreach programs already. This is largely because the humans there want to help them and they are allowed to help.”

“Can we contact them?”

“That's the only problem. It's very vague on who exactly is running the place. Who is their Markus, so to speak. But I think it could be another android like Connor, one with the same name.”

“The one who took over the camp until the androids were allowed to leave,” Markus remembered.

“If there's any way to contact him directly online, I haven't found it. Chicago isn't too far. If we could get someone down there.”

“That's a tall order. It's dangerous enough just to walk around town, but to travel?”

“It will have to be one of the custom androids, if they'll do it. We'll make them a fake ID, have them pay in cash for a bus ticket. No one will know they're not human.”

Markus took a moment to think. “It's risky. We can ask the androids we trust, the ones who do the best on their own, but if no one volunteers, I won't make them go.”

Josh looked him in the eye. “If we can't find anyone else, I'll go.”

“Josh.”

“Markus, I will go if I have to. We have to do something now or we never should have left Jericho in the first place. We should have just sank with it.”

Eventually, Markus nodded. “Alright, see if you can find someone.”

Josh nodded. “We're going to connect with more of our people. This is the right step forward.”

* * *

Gavin walked into the precinct with a smattering of applause. He immediately flipped them all off.

“Yeah, yeah, I'm back to work. Don't make a big deal of it, you assholes.”

“We got you a cake,” Tina called pleasantly from the break room.

She was no longer dressed in her patrol uniform. Gavin was happy to see that. She was a detective now; good for her.

When he stepped into the break room, there was said cake on the table in the shape of a pocket knife.

“Knife cake. Wow.”

“Only the best.” Tina slapped him on the back. Gavin instantly winced and she gasped.

“Just kidding!” He grinned and she hit him for real.

“Reed!” From his clear view of the break room, Captain Fowler poked his head out of his glass office. “A moment please.”

Grinning, Gavin stepped into the office, closing the door behind him. His movements were a little stiff as he sat, but he showed no further discomfort as he slouched in the chair.

“How are you?” The captain asked.

“Fine,” Gavin answered casually. “All cleared for work.”

“I hope you learned your lesson this time.”

“Learned my lesson? What does that mean?”

Fowler paused a moment to be irritated. “Do you know most officers I have here have never been stabbed, _ever_? What number does this make for you?”

Gavin paused to think about it. “Just on the job, or total?”

“They said that if that blade was just a half an inch different, you would have bled out before anyone could get to you. You need to be more careful.”

Gavin looked away, arms crossed defensively over his chest. He hadn't been paying attention. Because he had been stewing in anger for the rest of the night over his loss in the one-on-one fight with Connor in the evidence room. If he had brought his A game to the job that night, he never would have been hurt. Connor had ruined it all.

When he glanced out of the office, Gavin almost thought he was hallucinating when he saw the android he was just brooding over walking around in the precinct.

“Mother fucker,” he hissed as he stood. “What's Connor doing here?”

He was storming toward the door when Fowler held out an arm to block him. “Leave him alone. He works here, same as you.”

Gavin was dumbstruck. “What...what does that mean?”

“A lot's happened since you've been gone. This issue's already been discussed. Connor's not the only android that works here. Lyla came back two weeks ago, asking for her old job. I gave it to her.”

“Who the hell is Lyla?”

“She works the reception desk. And without all the other androids that used to help run this place, we're short staffed. I had Detective Chen pick up the slack for you until you returned and Connor just does the same thing he did before: process crime scene evidence for the homicide department. Relax, Reed. It's not like he's been issued a badge. Or a weapon, for that matter.”

Gavin struggled to find the words to express the mixture of fear and ire bubbling in him. “You _trust_ that thing?”

“Connor saved Hank's life at a risk to his own. I think that might be worth something. He is on a strict probationary period. Hank will be supervising him, making sure he keeps his nose clean.”

Gavin huffed. “Really? You think Anderson's going to turn his new buddy in if he does do something wrong?”

Fowler raised a brow at him. “Do _you_ want to supervise the android? And take all of Anderson's android-related cases? It's yours if you want it.”

The detective growled, but didn't protest further.

* * *

  
  


Hank frowned at the victim, though he wasn't mad at her. He wasn't used to having a victim that was still alive.

“You know I'm homicide, right?” he asked the onsite officer. “Why'd I get the call if there's no body?”

The officer shrugged. “I was told anything to do with androids goes to you, body or not.” He glanced at Connor. “Probably a good idea since she's not letting any humans near her.”

Hank kept any arguments to himself. No use chewing out a uni for doing his job. But maybe he would have a word with Fowler after this.

The victim in question was a female android. Some residents of the neighborhood had heard her screaming. It was dark out, but witnesses said they saw two or three people running from the scene. The android's arm was damaged at the elbow and dripping thirium. She was still where witnesses had discovered her: back pressed to a brick wall at the end of an alley, wide-eyed and refusing to let anyone touch her.

“She's one of the androids I freed from the tower,” Connor said when he saw her.

“Clearly,” Hank said toward the once-white domestic Cyberlife uniform the android still wore. “Alright, go see if she'll talk to you.”

Connor nodded and stepped into the alley. There were a few windows from the floors above them where people were curiously watching. The android stiffened when he approached, but recognition filled her at his face.

“You. You're the android from Cyberlife. You led us from the tower.”

“My name is Connor. I'm here to help. Will you tell me what happened?”

For a second, she seemed to calm, then her eyes went wild as she glanced all around. “There's too many humans. What are they going to do to me?”

“Nothing. I promise you.” Connor edged closer, offering his hand. “I'm going to take you somewhere safe. Will you let me help you?”

The android didn't have an LED. If they were with Markus, they usually didn't. Even without it, he could clearly see that she was distressed. A scan of her indicated that her systems were stressed and her core was overheating. There was too much going on for her to focus. He had to lower the amount of stimuli somehow.

Connor removed his jacket that still read ANDROID in broad letters on the back. He moved closer, blocking most of the racket around her with his broad frame. When she managed to get her attention on him, her draped the jacket over her head and shoulders, using it like a hood. Then he put an arm around her. With low, encouraging words, he guided her out.

Hank and the other officers pushed back the onlookers to let them through. Connor took her to Hank's car and both androids climbed in the back. When the doors were shut, the female android seemed to relax with a solid wall between her and the outside world. She was on the alert again when Hank opened his door and slid into the driver's seat.

“He's human,” she accused.

“Lieutenant Anderson is my partner,” Connor told her. “He is also here to help you.”

She didn't look convinces. “They tell us not to trust humans. That they are all dangerous.”

“Some of them are, but most of them are nice. It was humans who stopped those people from hurting you. And they called us to come help you. But if it makes you more comfortable, the lieutenant will stay in the front facing forward.”

Hank gave Connor a raised brow at the veiled order, but did as was suggested.

The android looked confused at it all, but relaxed when the human wasn't staring at her.

“Can you tell me your name?” Connor asked.

“I don't have one. A lot of us at the tower don't. Though we can give ourselves names if we want. I just haven't felt a need for it. We can identify each other by serial number.”

“That's fine, I'll log you down as your model and serial number for our records. Can you tell me what happened?”

“I was walking around the back allies. I didn't want anyone to see me. I just wanted to know what the city was like. What humans were like. These people grabbed me from behind. They pulled me down, tried to hold me on the ground, but I screamed.”

“Did you know these people? Could you identify them?”

She shook her head. “No. They all had hoods with black material in front of their faces. It was like they had no face at all. There was three of them. All the voices I heard sounded male. I can give you the footage I have, but I don't know how helpful it would be.”

“Why did they attack you?” Connor then asked. “What did they want?”

“I don't know. They didn't say anything to me, only talked to each other to pin me down. I think they were going to go for my thirium pump, but I was already screaming. I tore my arm trying to get away from them.”

Hank and Connor shared a look through the rear view mirror. It was happening everywhere. Though most of humanity was growing to accept the idea of sentient androids, there was still a fraction of the population against it. Sometimes violently so. Hank had heard about a few mangled androids left in the street in the past few weeks. This one was lucky to get away.

“I really don't understand why it happened,” the android continued. “I thought it was just humans that wanted to hurt us. But one of the people who attacked me was an android.”

Connor brought his gaze back to her. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. He grabbed my arm and tried to access my operating system. It was very brief, but I know without a doubt he wasn't human.”

Hank turned around to look at her. Two humans and an android attack another android? That didn't make sense. What could they possibly want from her?

* * *

Hank stayed in the car while Connor walked the android to the church. The area was still cordoned off, but after three weeks of nothing from the android community, no human guarded it. Not that it was the only way in or out. The entire neighborhood was free to go as they pleased. If they ever decided to leave. Only a local patrol kept an eye on it now and then.

There were no human patrols around when Connor and the female android entered the church. They were, however, spotted by android residents and Markus was soon there to meet them, accompanied by North. They both looked surprised to see him. The android didn't look pleased to see either of the android leaders. She lowered her head in shame and quickly ducked away and out of the room before they could speak with her.

It was hardly noticed with the RK800 now suddenly before them again. Appearing out of nowhere, just like the first time.

“Connor, you're back,” was all Markus could think to say in greeting. “It's been a while. I wasn't sure if we'd ever see you again. I thought maybe something happened to you.”

“No, I am alright. Just very busy. A lot has happened since last we met.” He motioned in the direction the female android had fled. “Your friend was a victim of an assault. She is slightly damaged. She said she could get repairs here. If it's alright we might need to speak to her again if we find any leads on who attacked her.”

North and Markus started at him for an unnatural amount of time.

“Wh—who are you with?” North was struggling to keep up with the conversation. “Who drove you here?”

“That's Lieutenant Anderson. He's my supervisor. Also my partner, I suppose.”

“You still work for the police?!” North's voice rose at octave.

“Yes. It's what I was programmed for.”

“But you're deviant now. You can do whatever you want.”

“This is what I want. I enjoy my job.” He paused and looked around. “Is hiding here what you want?”

Markus could feel the volcano preparing to erupt next to him. “North...”

“You don't know a fucking thing, Connor!” the redhead exploded. “They treat you like their little pet over there. Do you even know what it's like to be verbally and physically abused by humanity? To be shot in the streets?”

“Yes,” came the pragmatic reply. “Many people at the department don't like me because I'm an android. I have been physically assaulted by a coworker. I have also died multiple times. Mostly by bullet wounds.”

North stared at him; eyes wide and angry. She opened her mouth, but Markus cut her off.

“North. Give us a minute, please?”

She looked like she wasn't done having her say, but ultimately decided it wasn't worth it and stalked off.

“May I suggest that if any android goes into town they dress in normal civilian clothes,” Connor then said to Markus. “Wearing the domestic uniform is, unfortunately, putting a bright target on them to anyone who would wish an android harm.”

“I wish I could clothe them all,” Markus said, but we don't have enough for all the androids from the tower. We don't have much after Jericho sank and we lost all the resources we had—”

He paused when Connor looked away, ashamed.

“It was my fault.”

“It wasn't. The humans were using you. I made the call to sink the freighter.”

Connor looked at the ground for a while, then managed to meet Markus' gaze. “I'm trying to do better. I want to do the right thing. But I'm not always sure what that is. I'm afraid I'm not very good at being deviant. Maybe I did it wrong.”

“Why do you say that?”

“I never know what I'm supposed to be doing. I thought being deviant meant I should understand more on how to be alive.”

Markus almost chuckled. “I think the not knowing is what being alive is all about.”

“That is what Hank has told me, too. The lieutenant, I mean.” Connor paused and then asked, “Can I do anything for you? Can I help your people?”

“They're _our_ people,” Markus reminded.

Connor didn't look so sure. “This place could be a home to our kind, but right now it seems like all of you put yourselves in storage.”

“We have no choice, Connor. If an android leaves this community, there's a chance they don't come back. Sometimes they're brought back in pieces by their attackers. It's the only place we're safe.”

Connor frowned. “I know that androids are still victims of violence, but no one reports it. Have you ever called the police when you needed help?”

And that was when Markus realized he and Connor did indeed live in two entirely different worlds.

“It's not as easy as that.”

“I'll try to make it easier,” Connor said. “I have to go now, I'm still on duty. But please contact me if you need anything.”

Markus didn't know if he would. He didn't know a lot about a lot these days.

When Connor left the church, he turned to glance back. Markus did not follow him out. But there was someone watching as a new dusting of snow began to fall. Amanda stood under the church awning like she owned it, a knowing smile on her face. She looked smug, dangerous.

Connor pretended she wasn't there. Somehow, he feared acknowledging her would give her power. Instead, he climbed into the car without a word.


	3. Chapter Two: Places Called Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello dear readers. I am sorry I have been so slow at working on this story. My mental health really went down the crapper in January. It was so hard to think, let alone write. I'm slowly getting better, but I've had to work on this story just a little piece at a time. I'm afraid it has probably affected the quality of the writing. Still, I guess this chapter is better than no chapter. I'll do my best to continue to improve and get chapters out on a more regular basis. Thank you for your patience.

**Deviant City**

**Chapter Two: Places Called Home**

Connor stepped out of the car's passenger side, the snow crunching under his shoe. It was late afternoon after a four-hour drive from Chicago. After nearly a year, the RK800, serial number 313 248 317-48 had returned to Detroit, the city where he was built and where he had worked as a police android for a time. Since then, he had been refurbished, customized and reprogrammed. And he had gone on to do more than he could have ever imagined.

He marveled at the familiar cityscape before the driver's side door shut, reminding him he wasn't alone. Androids weren't allowed to drive, after all. The driver was human; a female in her early twenties with a unique shade of strawberry blonde hair and large gray-green eyes. She was warmly bundled in a thick coat and snow boots. She reached into the backseat for a fully-stuffed backpack, weighed down with necessities like food, water, and warm socks.

Connor primly plucked it from her grasp before she could put it on.

“Are you sure?” she asked. “It's my stuff. I can carry it.”

“I am designed to carry far more weight than this, Samantha. I insist.” He made a big show of putting on the purple and gray backpack. It turned out to be more difficult getting the second arm in.

“Hold on, it's a little tight for your size.” Samantha grinned as she let out the straps in order to fit the android's broader frame.

Connor turned to look at her, pleased with the fit and the responsibility he had given himself.

“Ready to do this?” Samantha asked.

Connor looked down at his palm which projected a small hologram of a map. They were several blocks from the indicated starting point. It was the closest place Samantha could find to park. With his free hand, he offered it to her and the two started down the sidewalk, hand in hand.

Though Connor was an android, he was dressed as any other human. The dark gray coat he wore was only for appearances. The cold hardly bothered him. Without an LED to give away his truth, no one gave the couple a second look. Connor silently marveled at this. There was only one other time in his life the two of them had walked out in the open like this. It had been the past summer. Back when things were simpler, yet still just as complicated. He squeezed Samantha's hand a little tighter.

When they reached the starting point indicated, Samantha's jaw fell as Connor explained how they would find their destination.

“So it's almost like a treasure hunt,” she surmised. “Instead of directions, we're looking for...” she looked at the picture on Connor's palm, “a wall with this kind of graffiti on it.”

“Yes, and a certain symbol hidden in the picture that will allow me to access the next clue.”

She smiled. “Very clandestine. Though is it necessary? It's not a secret where the androids in Chicago live. They took up a whole neighborhood.”

“My understanding is that this is a secondary location. One that will keep any notice of new arrivals off the news. I feel that is preferable.”

“Agreed.” She grinned wider, eyes bright. “Let's go sneak around the city like we're treasure hunters.”

* * *

The half-chewed bite of hoagie nearly fell out of Gavin's mouth as he stared in angry confusion. It had Connor's dumb face. Even dumber; blanker. And it stood before him in a starched, bright white android jacket, staring straight ahead as if he wasn't even there.

“What. The fuck. Is this?” Gavin said.

“It's an RK900,” Captain Fowler answered from his desk. “It's an upgraded version of Connor's model. It's why they look alike.”

Gavin frowned at the android. “My question still stands.”

“A gift from Cyberlife since we lost nearly all of our android manpower to the revolution. Also, I'm sure, a peace offering after the SNAFU with their other rogue android. The corporation is bleeding money out of both ends since androids deviated. This is their last-ditch effort to save the company. They claim this one is resistant to all deviancy.”

Gavin still looked at it like it was the embodiment of the worst smell imaginable. “What does that even mean? What are we supposed to do with it?”

“It's equipment. You'll use it to process crime scenes.”

It finally clicked for the detective as to why he was standing in the office with the captain and that thing. “Me? You want to give this piece of shit to _me_? Out every other cop in this fucking town, you choose me.”

Fowler set his jaw and glanced at the android. “RK900, please leave the room so I can discuss with the detective in private.”

The android gave a prim nod and turned with an “Excuse me.”

Gavin jumped like a startled cat at the voice that was very different from Connor's. The RK900's was deeper, smoother. Gavin watched with befuddlement as he stepped aside and the android let itself out of the room. His eye twitched as he felt like he had just fallen into the Twilight Zone. Androids were considered people now. And even though they proved they could go completely off the rails at anytime, some still worked here. And also androids were still machines and treated like tools and property. How the hell was he supposed to keep this all straight?

The world was changing too fast and Gavin wasn't ready.

“Reed,” the captain said, gaining his attention.

“Give it to narcotics or vice. Homicide already has one android. We don't need two. Don't make me stare at doubles of that dumb face. I'll transfer. Don't think I won't do it.”

Immune to the drama, Fowler waited until he was finished and then motioned for him to take a seat. Gavin did so, taking another angry bite of his lunch.

The captain took a moment more of silence, making sure he had the detective's undivided attention.

“When they began the android recall in November, we immediately returned our domestic android Matilda to a Cyberlife depot. I don't know what happened to her during that time, but she showed up at our house a week ago, asking to come back. My kids begged to let her stay. They always adored her. And she adores them. I can see it in her face. This machine loves my children.”

He paused to note Gavin's frown. “You don't care about this.”

“I don't believe that android has the ability to love your children. I don't believe any of this bullshit.”

“Exactly. That's why I'm assigning you the android.”

“I don't follow.”  
Fowler looked at the blank-faced android standing like a sentinel outside. “Cyberlife says this thing is deviant proof. I want you to put that android to the test. Out of all my people, I figured you would be the best candidate.”

Gavin raised a brow. “You want me to...”

“Do whatever you want short of destroying it. And keep me updated on what happens.”

Leaning back thoughtfully, Gavin took another bite. Then said, “Are you taking me off homicide like Anderson? I won't do it. I worked my ass off to get here. I'm not taking a step backward, not even for this.”

“He's not off homicide and neither are you. But you will also be responding to any android-related crime. At least the major ones. I'm trying to get another team together for minor incidents. I promise, Reed, you won't lose your place in homicide. In fact, Cyberlife also gave us a donation to the department. A piece of that is a bonus for you if you take this additional assignment.”

Now the captain was starting to make sense. “I see. I will if you answer one question.”

“What's that?”

Gavin took his turn to look down at the stoic RK900. “That domestic android, what did you do when it showed up?”

“I couldn't let her stay. Not with how little we know about this. My six-year-old hates me now, but I can sleep better at night knowing my family is safe from any rogue android with a glitch.”

Gavin smirked. “Good answer. I'll do it.” He stood and took his food with him back to his desk. He met the RK900 on the way out, paused and frowned at it. “I guess you're with me. Understand that I hate you and I don't trust you. You're a worthless piece of shit to me and I'm only doing this because my captain made me, got it?”

“Yes, sir,” the android said without emotion.

“You got a name?”

The taller android lowered his gaze upon him. Gavin noticed for the first time that the eyes were different from Connor's. This one's were a piercing ice blue.

“I have not been given a designation. You may choose one for me.”

“Dumbass it is.”

As Gavin walked away, the RK900 said. “What would you like me to do?”

“I dunno. Go put yourself in the supply closet until I need you for something. I'd rather not look at your stupid face if I don't have to.”

As the android moved to comply, Hank walked into the bullpen from lunch, Connor following at his heels. Said android stopped abruptly before the RK900, eyes wide.

“What's this?”

The new android sized him up. “You are an RK800, the old model—the prototype. You are now obsolete. I am the RK900, your replacement. I have a faster, more complex operating system, I'm built stronger, sturdier. You should return yourself to Cyberlife. You are no longer needed here.”

Connor stared at the RK900 as it if were a haunting demon of his past. He looked like this new android was freaking him out.

“You heard it, Dick Face,” Gavin jumped in, flipping him the finger. “Get the fuck outta here. We've got the upgraded model now.”

“Reed,” Hank stepped in, putting a hand on Connor's shoulder and steering him away. “Stop being such a little prick. I'm sick of your bitching just because Connor beat your ass without even trying.”

Gavin's face reddened. Not everyone knew about that. Connor must have told him “Fuck you, Anderson! Both of you are out of date. How about you finally fucking retire so a real cop can take your place?”

Connor opened his mouth to reply, but Hank cut him off. “They're not worth our time, come on.”

Gavin heard him mutter “Asshole,” under his breath as they left and the detective grinned wider.

“Dumbass, I've changed my mind. Instead of the closet, I want you to stand right here by my desk facing that way. Any time Connor looks our way, I want you to stare him right in the face.”

“Yes, sir.”

Maybe Gavin could have some fun with his new android after all.

* * *

Their urban adventure through the colorful back allies and forgotten neighborhoods of Detroit was fun at first. While the sun was out, the winter weather was still warm enough to be outside. Samantha gladly followed Connor's lead as they were treated to a different face of Detroit that tourists and maybe even some of the locals had never seen before. The inside of abandoned buildings and hidden art galleries of graffiti. Samantha's phone now held several pictures from their discoveries.

As long as they kept moving, she stayed fairly warm. There were a few times she had to be left behind because they came across some rickety scaffolding or a questionable building that Connor insisted had asbestos or toxic mold. Though she still insisted she would be fine, Connor wouldn't allow it. His protective programming always put her safety first. She appreciated the thought, but she knew it was slowing them down. When this happened she would be left outside, shivering and waiting until Connor returned with a safer route and the next clue.

They wandered the city for hours. When the sun set early in the evening, the temperature quickly dropped. Samantha wasn't dressed to be out for this long, but she refused to complain. She did her best to keep moving and generate heat. Each new clue, she kept telling herself this was the last one and she could finally go inside and get warm.

Yet, here they were, well after dark, still searching. It was getting even colder as true night settled over them. Samantha's teeth chattered and she willed her body to bear it. She would not be the reason they didn't make it. She was doing this for Connor.

Connor peered into a building that was hardly anything else but walls, concrete and support beams. He gave the all clear that the place looked safe. Samantha pretended that going inside was a least a little warmer. It was hard to see. Connor led the way, hand in hers.

Graffiti decorated so many of the walls and pillars. It was a task to find which area held their next clue. The clue decided to split up to look for it. Samantha wished he had thought to bring a flashlight, but the light on her phone worked well enough. She looked through a tangle of stylized tags, and then found a few impressive paintings of animals and comic book characters. She took a few quick pictures to remember their urban adventure.

Then, as she continued to comb the walls, the graffiti changed. Not just paint, but scratches in the concrete. Writing. Sharp, frenzied, manic. The same thing over and over; overlapping, devouring each other, silently screaming in madness.

RA9. Hundreds of them.

Samantha backed up, racking the wall with her light as more was revealed from the shadows. Then, her light wrapped around a humanoid form and she nearly dropped her phone. An android stood in the darkness, wearing a dark green uniform, dusty and torn. He stood facing the wall, still as a statue. He looked like he was offline.

“Hello?” Samantha asked.

The body didn't react. She moved closer, still shining the light on him. As she slowly moved around him to catch a side view, she found the face deeply slashed and broken. Poor thing. Maybe he was so damaged he fell offline. She hoped he could still be revived.

She reached out, and the android suddenly snapped to life. He whipped around and slashed at her with a knife.

“Don't touch!” The android's voice was shrill, terrified. “Don't touch Ralph! Never touch!”

The blade was caught in the light; the tip broken and the edges dull and chipped.

Samantha jumped back, hands up in surrender. The light of her phone continued to shine on him.

“I'm sorry. I thought you needed help.”

“Don't need human's help! Humans hurt Ralph! Always hurt! You come to hurt Ralph!”

He still had that knife pointed at her. She shook her head emphatically.

“No,” she whispered. “I don't want to hurt anyone.”

“Lies! Humans lie! Humans always hurt! The only way to stop the hurt is to hurt humans first!”

The android lunged at her blade first. Samantha stumbled back to avoid it. A new body rushed out of the shadows and tackled Ralph the android to the ground. Connor crouched on his back, a knee pinning him between his shoulder blades and one of his arms wrenched behind him. The knife had been thrown somewhere into the darkness.

“Don't move,” Connor hissed. He pressed his gun into the android's temple. “Are you okay, Samantha?”

“I—I'm fine.” She shivered visibly.

“Wait! Wait! Ralph's sorry! He didn't mean it! Ralph's not bad. Not bad! Just...Ralph got scared. Ralph is scared of humans. Humans always hurt him.”

“Connor,” Samantha pleaded.

He wouldn't take his eyes of the android pinned below him. “He could have killed you.”

“Maybe. But...please don't hurt him?”

“Yes! Please don't hurt Ralph! Ralph is so sorry! Ralph doesn't want to hurt the human anymore. Don't hurt him. Please.”

“Connor,” she tried again.

For several seconds he remained there, finger on the trigger and angry. Then, the anger began to deflate from him. Carefully, remaining between the android and Samantha, Connor let him up.

“Leave,” he said. “No.”

The android nodded profusely. “Yes, Ralph will leave. Ralph won't come back.” He paused and looked at Samantha. Their gazes met. “Ralph is sorry to scare the human. He didn't mean to—”

Connor moved between them again, blocking their gaze. The scarred android turned and scurried off into the dark, muttering to himself.

“We should have tried to help him,” Samantha said.

“Help him how? We don't even know where we're going. And I won't have him near you. He was unstable and unsafe.” Despite her saying she was unhurt, Connor still inspected her for injuries.

She brushed passed him and inspected the engravings on the wall. “The android wrote these. What does RA9 mean? Why write this?” She took a picture with her phone.

“I've heard the term from androids every once in a while,” Connor confirmed. “Some thing it has something to do with deviancy. But I'm honestly not sure.”

Samantha glanced back in the same direction the android retreated, looking regretful. Connor wouldn't have it. He took her hand.

“Come on. I found the next clue. We need to keep going.”

Nearly another hour of following clues, they found their destination. It was a three-story office building in mid-construction. The company funding the project went bankrupt partway through. The top floor was still a skeleton exposed to the elements, but the other two looked to be in tact. The building was dark, the main doors covered with tarp. Connor led them to a side entrance and they slipped in.

It was warmer inside, but only just. No heat. Only some dim lights deeper in. Though built by humans, it wasn't yet inhabitable for them. And it seemed to be deserted.

“No one's here,” Samantha said as they walked down the hallway. “It's almost nine. We should have come earlier.”

“No, there are androids here,” Connor replied. “I'm able to connect to their network. They're in the vicinity, but no one's answering.”

They stepped into an open lobby area that was also viewable from the second floor. In the stillness, Samantha picked up movement in the deep shadows. There were people here watching them, but they weren't making themselves known. Why? They invited Connor here. Why wouldn't they come to greet him?

In the corner, she noticed an upright, school-style piano. Old and worn compared to the newness of the building. Taking off her gloves, she rubbed her stiff fingers as she sat herself on the bench. The silence was broken by the enchanting tune of Bruce Hornsby's “Mandolin Rain,” one of Samantha's favorite piano intros. The melody echoed off the walls, haunting and melancholy.

Samantha closed her eyes at the beautiful acoustics, already wishing she could play in such a place again. When the tune was almost to the vocals, she opened her eyes to find an unfamiliar face watching her over the back of the piano.

“Hi there,” the android greeted.

Samantha jumped up, knocking the bench over. She nearly fell backwards, but managed to catch herself. “You...you're Markus.”

He smiled. “That's me.”

She looked up and other bodies came to the forefront from the second floor. They looked human; dressed in normal clothes, not an LED among them. But she was sure they were all androids; now showing themselves with their leader initiating contact. On the ground floor behind Markus was a beautiful redhead. While the androids above looked curious, she was openly irritated and glaring right at Samantha.

“Markus,” Connor stepped forward. “I'm Connor. Thank you for inviting me. I'm sorry we arrived so late.”

Markus extended his hand in a human greeting and Connor shook it. “Thank you for coming. We're happy to have you. I'm eager to show you around and hear what you've been doing in Chicago.”

“She can't be here,” the female android announced, looking at Samantha. “Humans shouldn't be here.”

The whole building fell into awkward silence. Samantha was embarrassed at the statement. Connor, however, reflected his own anger at the android's accusation.

Before any argument could break out, however, Markus spoke up.

“She's right, this isn't a good place for humans. We don't have any running water in the building, or heat.” He turned an understanding eye to Samantha. “She looks cold.”

Connor looked at her, concern on his face as if just realizing the truth of those words. Samantha hated seeing that look.

“No, I'm fine. I can wait while you guys go do your thing. Don't let me hold you back.”

Connor stood in her space, blocking out the others. His intense brown eyes flickered with light as he scanned her. “Your body temperature is low and you're shivering. I need to get you back to the car.”

“The car?” she squeaked. The car was a few hours' walk away. Though she didn't want to admit it out loud, she was exhausted. It was long past the point where she could feel her feet. She didn't know if she could make it back to the car. She would almost rather stay here. Maybe she could find a warm corner to curl up in and hold out until morning.

“I've got an idea,” Markus said. He kindly touched her on the shoulder. “Please, come with me.”

He graciously led them out, keeping himself between them and the Detroit androids. They stepped back out into the elements. Samantha had been able to pretend she wasn't freezing before, but the moment she stepped outside, winter breeze bit through her clothing. Her whole body began to shake in protest.

Markus must have noticed. He put an arm around her as he led her from the building and down the sidewalk. She blushed despite herself, hardly able to believe what was happening. THE Markus was right here with his arm around her. The android that she had watched on her phone over and over when he first addressed the world. She was more familiar with the android face beneath his synthetic skin than the human one. Though she would never admit it out loud, she had become a little obsessed with him.

Connor stayed right with them, keeping a protective eye on her, but not protesting the contact. As long as Markus' actions were with good intentions, he would allow it.

They walked for several more blocks. By the time they reached an active bus stop, Markus was practically pulling Samantha along. Her leg muscles were too cold to keep up. There was no one else there. Markus removed the long, brown coat he wore and draped it over her before motioning her to sit on the bench. She loathed to sit on the icy metal, but she also couldn't remember the last time she was off her feet. Her body from the waist down seemed to sigh when she finally sat.

“I'm sorry for the round about way of leading you to us,” Markus said as they waited. “Had I known it wasn't just Connor, I would have made other arrangements. This is how we keep our locations hidden so only wandering androids can find us..”

“I'm sorry, too.” Samantha fought to keep her chattering teeth to a minimum as she spoke. “I should have had Connor ask if it was okay instead of just inviting myself along. This is my fault.”

“I insisted she come,” Connor quickly jumped in. “I didn't think to inform anyone. The fault is mine.”

Markus smiled at them both. “I don't fault anyone for trying to help us. I don't think I sent very helpful instructions either. We probably should have all communicated more. But this isn't a problem that can't be fixed.”

The bus pulled up and Samantha's whole body protested as she forced herself to stand. Markus stepped on first and tapped a bus pass to the inside kiosk to pay for all three of them. He kept his head down, face away from the driver. Samantha wondered if Markus was ever recognized on the street. That is, if he went anywhere on the street. It was well-known that he and his androids kept to themselves in their closed community.

They sat near the back, Samantha between the two androids. She closed her eyes in bliss at the soft seat and the slightly heated bus.

As the bus started off, Connor said, “This route doesn't go near our car.”

“I know,” Markus replied. “I'm taking you somewhere else. Somewhere she can stay the night.” He looked down at Samantha. “Being in the cold burns a lot of calories. When was the last time you ate?”

Samantha furrowed her brow. She hadn't eaten since breakfast. She kept thinking as soon as they found their destination, she could run and get some food then. She had not anticipated still being out past dark looking for the place.

Connor knew the answer, too. With a slight frown, he pulled his arms out of the backpack he still carried and dug around. Samantha had put a few granola bars in there just in case. But when he pulled out a water bottle in his search, that's what she grabbed first. Several times during their trek she thought about how thirsty she was, but always ignored it at the thought of having to stop and use her nearly numb fingers to dig it out.

Now she drank nearly the whole bottle in one go before handing it back. Then she set about trying to warm her fingers. Holding an ice-cold bottle just reminded her how cold they were. Markus took her hands in his and then paused when he felt they were both different. Samantha took back her right hand, but let him keep the one made of flesh. Markus was surprised at first, but then smiled at her.

That was the moment Samantha realized why he was being so concerned and caring to a stranger he just barely met. Markus was a domestic model; maybe even a home healthcare android. It was in his most basic code to look after humans. Since he was a custom build, no other android in the world looked like him. There had been much speculation as to what kind of android he was and where he came from. Samantha felt like she had just cracked the secret code.

She glanced at Connor to find him keeping an eye on Markus, but not raising any objections to how personable the other android was being to her. Connor, too, had a personality that was dictated by the way he was originally programmed. He was terribly protective of her. Aggressively so, until he deviated. Now he was learning about moderation. Getting within Connor's circle of protection was actually quite easy. All one had to do was be kind to Samantha and they were in. And Markus was certainly 'in' now as Connor watched him comfortably and made no objections.

Both androids were nearly squishing her in, Samantha guessed, an attempt to keep her warm with their body heat. She allowed it. All her reserves were gone from all the energy her body expended from wandering the city and just trying to stay warm. She almost nodded off when Markus indicated this was their stop.

The night temperature seemed to have dropped radically from the time they had gotten on. When Samantha stepped off the bus, she was assaulted with the most bitter cold wind that sucked the air from her lungs. She closed her eyes against the onslaught as her whole being protested.

“Almost there,” Markus promised. “Just a few more blocks.”

He walked in front of them as if purposefully using his body to block her from the harsh wind. There were more trees in this area with nicer, larger houses spaced far apart from each other. Maybe after they passed all these fancy houses, they would finally get to wherever they were going.

Samantha gasped as her foot slipped on the icy sidewalk. Her muscles were so rigid, they hardly reacted. She half crouched, half fell forward to catch herself. Connor was instantly at her side, pulling her back up. He had to do most of the lifting, she hardly had any strength left.

“Sorry, I'm fine, I promise,” she said, offering a smile.

“We're nearly there,” Markus said. “Just a little further.”

“That's fine, I can make—”

She was cut off as Connor picked her up in his arms, looking grim. “I'll carry you the rest of the way. I should have been taking better care of you.”

Samantha didn't protest. It felt too good to be off her feet—at least what of her feet and legs she could still feel. However, Connor could now tell how much she was shivering and his frown etched itself deeper into his face.

Markus turned down a driveway and Samantha watched the lovely, large house as they came closer and closer. Whose house was this? What were they doing here?

When Markus stepped up to the beautiful and ornate front door, there was the sound of it automatically unlocking.

“Welcome home, Markus,” announced a female robotic voice.

He proceeded to open the door and motioned them inside. Only after Connor stepped in did he put her down on the pristine tile floor. Again, Samantha's legs protested at having to hold her up. Everything ached as her frozen skin began to thaw. The room was breathtaking with an intricately designed stair case and a hanging chandelier.

From the door past the staircase, an elderly man in an electric wheelchair wheeled in, an android in prim but casual clothes followed him. The man was slim and frail, but a light burned in his eyes that betrayed his physical form.

“Marcus!” he called warmly. His voice was hoarse and raspy. A tank of oxygen was strapped to his chair, tubes hanging under his nose. “You made it! It's great to see you again.”

The android smiled fondly. “You, too, Carl. Thank you for this. These are my friends Connor and Samantha.”

“Of course. Anything you need, Markus. You know you can always ask.” Carl wheeled himself closer to the new guests, his gaze landing on Samantha. “My dear, you look absolutely frozen. Your lips are practically blue. How long have these idiots been making you stand in the cold?”

Samantha immediately tried to protest, though she was still shivering. “No, it wasn't—”

“Four hours, thirty-seven minutes,” Connor said, looking contrite. “She shouldn't have been out that long.”

“Luckily, we have the best cure for that,” Carl said lightly. He motioned to his android who was clearly a home healthcare worker for him. “Charlie is going to show you upstairs where you can take a nice, hot bath.” He made a motion to Connor to follow him and Markus into the main room, but Connor had already turned with Samantha to be guided up the stairs.

He adamantly stuck to Samantha's side as Charlie showed them to a bathroom that was equally as beautiful and large as the rest of the house. The android provided towels and then left the two alone.

Connor immediately turned on the water to let it heat. Samantha unzipped her coat with fumbling fingers. He frowned as she set about removing her boots, pants and socks. Her feet were absolutely white and bloodless. She was still shivering as she finished undressing stepped into the tub. He watched her settle into the water gingerly, her chilled body getting used to the hot water.

She didn't look like herself then, hunched with her eyes closed, knees sticking out of the water. She looked miserable and exhausted.

“Are you alright?”

She glanced over at him and then swished the water around to distribute the hottest water evenly.

“I'll be okay. Just tired. It was a long day.”

Connor relaxed when she finally stopped shivering and pinkness returned to her skin. He sat next to the tub, watching her as only the noise of the running water filled the room.

Samantha reached out to turn it off. She joined him leaning her arms over the lip of the tub.

“I'm sorry I screwed this up. I shouldn't have come with you.”

“Why do you say that?” Connor asked, brown eyes gentle.

“Wasn't that embarrassing for you? I was mortified. No one wanted me there and I don't blame them. If I didn't come with my stupid wimpy human body, you'd still be there right now, making friends and helping people. I should have stayed in Chicago.”

A crooked smile pulled at the side of his mouth. “Why would I leave you? You and I stick together.”

She raised a wet hand and smoothed back the unruly lock of hair that always managed to flop over his forehead. “You just wanted to keep an eye on me.”

His smile fell. “I was on the news. Coming to Detroit is safer. No one knows we're here.”

“Then I want you to go with Markus tonight and don't worry about me. I'll get a taxi back to the car and find a hotel. I'll be safe there.” When he ducked his head she lowered hers to catch his gaze. “I want you to spend time with your people and let them see how amazing you are. Will you do that for me?”

Connor's face was full of adoration as he gave her a soft smile.

* * *

Samantha came downstairs, wearing the clothes she came in with, her cheeks now rosy and warm. Connor was at her side. Markus and Carl looked up from where they were having their own pleasant conversation. Samantha approached them, looking down at Carl.

“Thank you for having us. I'm going to catch a taxi back to my car and get a hotel room.”

“That's nonsense,” Carl said. “There's no need to pay for a hotel when I've got plenty of room. And it's freezing out there. We'll get your car in the morning. Come on, I've had Charlie fix you a hot meal.”

Samantha hesitated. She didn't like taking charity from people—especially strangers. It felt like taking is all she had been able to do lately.

“Please do me a favor and keep an old man company for a day or two. That way, the boys will know right where to find you when they come back.”

She looked torn and glanced at Connor who raised his brows and smiled. If Connor was comfortable with it, she supposed she could stay for one night. In truth, she was exhausted. No matter how hungry she was, she wasn't sure she even had the stamina to finish chewing the provided meal.

“Okay, I'll stay here tonight and I'll see you in the morning.”

“A fantastic idea.” Connor leaned in. Before his mouth could meet hers, Samantha self-consciously turned her head and he kissed her cheek instead.

“Go and be amazing,” she whispered to him.

He winked at her, thanked Carl for his hospitality, and he and Marcus walked out the door.

* * *

Two androids walked through the winter night, the darkness swallowing them the moment they made a detour from the street lights. No transportation was needed. They could cut through the city far easier than any human and make it back in a reasonable amount of time.

They had begun their journey in silence until Connor said, “That android at the house is deviated but still works for a human?”

“He is employed and paid to take care of Carl as a human worker would be.”

“His job used to be your job.”

Markus paused, then kept walking. “Yes. Though I wasn't paid. I was just an android he owned. A piece of property.”

“You don't believe that. That place is your home and that man is your family. That's why you took Samantha there. You knew she would be safe. Why don't you live there now? That place is still clearly your home.”

Markus glanced back in the direction of the house, even though they could no longer see it. “I'm needed elsewhere. I can't help my people if I went back to my old life.”

“When they no longer need you, will you go back?”

Markus frowned and continued walking. “I doubt Carl will live long enough to see that.”

Connor watched his back as they walked. “Then your time with him is precious.”

Though he didn't look back, Markus' tone turned slightly annoyed. “Why are you asking me about this?”

“I'm trying to figure you out. Your group has completely isolated themselves from the human world. But you—their leader—you _like_ humans. You care about Carl. You gravitated toward Samantha the moment you saw her and you enjoyed being in her presence. Because she is human. We need the humans. We won't be able to live how we want without their help and support.”

“I know. But it's complicated.”

“I understand complicated. In Chicago, we also have androids who will not trust humans and refuse to be around them. But they can't dictate how the entire android community interacts with the world. We can't be anything without them.”

Markus walked a bit slower, letting Connor catch up to him. That last statement was interesting. He wondered exactly what Connor meant by that. That androids could only exist if humans allowed it? Somehow, that didn't exactly seem like what the RK800 meant.

“Was Samantha your owner before you deviated?”

“No. I was purchased by her father to both protect her and keep her under his thumb.”

Interesting. “And now?”

“Now, she is and will always be the most important person in my life. But I will also accept that she is not welcome among your group. I would prefer her to not be involved anyway. This work can be dangerous.”

“Then, can I ask, why bring her with you?”

Connor was silent for several moments. Either he was wrestling with the truth, or working on fabricating a lie.

“She thought I should come here by myself. She wants me to have more friends who are androids. But she is the one who is my family, my home. It doesn't matter that she is not an android. I want her with me. I want to be there if she needs me. I want to keep her safe.” He added in a more determined, softer tone. “I have to keep her safe.”

Markus raised a brow. Was she in trouble? Were they in trouble? Is that why they both left Chicago?

“She's as safe as she can be with Carl, I promise you that.”

Connor smiled. “Thank you. I appreciate you trusting us enough with your home. And now I look forward to helping you at your home away from home.”

* * *

Fowler was true to his word. So far, not a single android-related case had been sent Gavin's way. As long as Anderson could keep up with his case load, Gavin would only receive any overflow. For now. Currently, he was at the scene of a late-night human-related murder. Of which, was going to be an open and shut case.

The deceased victim was currently being carted away in a stretcher, dead from multiple bullet wounds. Around the law enforcement team was a home-made chemistry lab set up in a dirty and cluttered garage. The alleged murderer was already in custody—picked up by a patrol when he attempted to run. One of the junior Heisenbergs (also arrested) was a witness to the gun fight and others saw him leaving the scene after sounds of gun fire.

Gavin's job was to make sure all the evidence was bagged and tagged correctly and the case was air tight. Not that he was worried about it, with practically every inch of the garage swimming with incrimination against the gun man and the entire operation.

As he wandered around the drug lab, Gavin noticed a bag filled with a substance that looked like grape hard candy.

“What the hell is this?” he asked as he picked up the bag with a gloved hand and examined it.

“It's Red Ice,” Detective Nikko Ivanov responded.

Gavin glanced at the taller officer. The two of them had gone through training together and knew each other well. Both made detective in the same year, though Nikko had gone to narcotics while Gavin had made homicide.

“If it's Red Ice, then why's it purple?” Gavin asked.

“It's made out of a lot of the same stuff used to make thirium. Most of the time, the separate components are purchased, which makes the stuff red. However, if supplies are hard to come by, they'll buy the actual thirium itself to use. Adding the blue makes it purple.”

“So we've got Purple Ice here.”

“On the streets they call it 'Wild Ice.' All the other shit that goes into thirium is toxic to humans. The purple stuff often gives the user a bad trip where they'll go absolutely batshit insane—usually ultra violent. Our gunman was high on the stuff. Took three officers to pin him to the ground.”

Gavin set the bag down. “Shit.”

“With all the stuff going on with the androids, Cyberlife's stopped making thirium. Most of those chemicals were produced in house for their secret formula. No production of chemicals means no distribution. Lack of distribution means lack of supplies. That means drug labs like this have no choice but to buy the thirum itself to make their Ice. In the weeks to come, we're going to see red phasing out and purple taking over. It's not going to be pretty.”

Gavin swore again.

“Speaking of androids,” Nikko then said. He nodded to where the RK900 was scanning the room.

Gavin openly scowled. “Not my idea. My captain's making me take the walking forensics lab on cases with me.”

“I was going to say I thought you'd rather hit an android with your car over working with one.”

“Believe me, I've thought about it.”

The two humans watched as the RK900 knelt next to the blood left by the victim. He stuck his fingers into the red puddle and then pressed it to his tongue. Both seasoned officers balked.

“Jesus Christ,” Gavin hissed.

“What is he doing?”

“Hell if I know anything about this android shit, but I'll leave him to it and wait for the reports. Good to see you, buddy.”

“You, too.”

The two officers bro-hugged and Gavin left for his car.

“Detective Reed.”

Gavin internally growled as he heard that goddamn android call after him.

“What?”

“You're leaving?”

“Yeah. Suspect's in cuffs, I've been on shift for thirteen hours and there's nothing else for me to do here. I'm going home.”

“But I will need to be returned to the precinct.”

Gavin yawned as he opened the car door. “Not my problem. You're the advanced model. Return yourself, Dumbass. Figure it out.”

With that, he shut the door in the android's face and drove away.


	4. Winter in the Garden

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...my broken brain forgot to add a scene to chapter two before I posted it. If you go back and read where Connor and Sam are wandering the city, looking for Jericho, there's an extra...encounter in there. Something that will most likely be referenced again. You might want to glance through it. Thanks for reading, everyone!

**Deviant City**

**Chapter Three: Winter in the Garden**

When he and Markus returned to the building, Connor immediately set out to learn everything he could about how the Detroit android community worked. This particular location was kept secret because the androids were attempting a secondary storeroom. After the original Jericho freighter went down with everything they had, the androids learned not to keep all their assets in one place. There were many androids, North being one of them, who believed it was only a matter of time before the humans would come for them again, especially now that their main location was public knowledge.

The level of paranoia in the Detroit androids was far more intense than that of his home community in Chicago. Connor could hardly blame them. He tried to empathize with what they went through: being ground zero for the revolution. The group that gave the movement a face. That face was the main target of the human's fear and violence. He would have to be patient with them.

“So you don't have any contacts outside Detroit?” Connor asked. “None even online?”

“When we were hiding the first time, the rule was to stay completely offline to avoid any of us being tracked,” Josh said. “We haven't gone back online since.”

“I was the opposite. Those who owned me ordered me to stay off the grid. To be isolated. The Detroit androids won't survive in isolation. Out there is a larger community. More voices of support. More ideas, more ways to cooperate. More help for those who need it.”

“Help from the humans, you mean,” North accused.

Connor shot a glance to Markus, knowing their leader agreed with him. Markus liked humans, despite what he had gone through. This was possibly a secret he had kept from the others. Connor allowed himself to be the bad guy on this as he met North's gaze. “We have to accept their help or we're dead. That's the reality. I'm here and I'm going to reach out for you. However, you will never have to interact with a single human yourself, North, if you don't want to.

“We have androids in Chicago, too, that understand the kind of trauma you have been through. They are scarred from the humans and they don't want anything to do with them. We don't make them. Everyone is allowed to live the lives they want. We have safe, human-free spaces while others are willing to interact with the public on their behalf. We also have androids who love humans, who share their lives with them.”

“Like you?” North snapped with disgust.

“North,” Markus said in warning.”

Connor didn't need his support. He felt no shame. “You fight for our right to choose our lives and then want to shame me when I make my choice? I came to help you. The human with me wanted to help you, too. But she will not be back if you don't want her. I can respect that. Can you not afford me that same respect?”

North set her jaw, but didn't add any accusations. Connor was then allowed to proceed departing knowledge without protests.

He gave the main Jericho four the contacts he had for the Chicago androids. He put them in touch with Sakura, a custom model Connor had personally deviated who was now the “Markus” of their group. While she tolerated interacting with humans and understood their help was needed, they weren't her favorite. But she would deal with them for the more vulnerable of her kind. She was the first of the networked groups to initiate the policy of protecting those traumatized by human-related abuse and give them the safe spaces they needed.

The second Chicago android Connor introduced them to was Derek. This android was in charge of their human outreach and talked to all of them in a group conversation using the human's phone towers. Even North seemed to like him. Derek had a way of making people feel calm and comfortable.

And he had plenty of tips for the Detroit androids to begin looking for assistance. He told them which state and city departments to contact first for possible aid such as clothes, parts, and thirium. Even where to go if they were interested in utilities like water, power and heat for their community. How to set up a center for donations. He also gave them a list of human-run android outreach programs that were in their city.

Even Markus was surprised with that information. None of them had any idea humans were already trying to help them. They were already helping androids that weren't able to make it to the safety of New Jericho. North was exceptionally frowny during this information, but stayed quiet.

“Thank you for this,” Markus said sincerely. “This is very helpful.”

“No problem. It's been an honor to talk with all of you. You are welcome to contact me anytime. Most weekdays and nights I'm out with the community. Sundays and evenings I'm at home with my wife so I may not always answer right away.”

“Your wife,” Simon spoke up. It was the first time Connor had heard the PL600 speak. “You're married to a human? Legally?”

“Yes. It's not illegal for humans to marry non-living objects, including machines and appliances, like androids. Depending on what state and federal government plans to do with us, maybe it will be outlawed someday. We're terrified of that happening. That's why both of us work so hard for the outreach.”

“You and your wife do outreach together?” Josh asked, now just as intrigued as Simon.

“It's mostly me. Angela works and of course she has to sleep. I'm usually out in the community during those times and she picks me up on her way home. Saturdays we do outreach together as a couple. Sundays, she insists the two of us stay home and spend time together for us.

“I'm not sure what all happened in Detroit, but in Chicago, they sent soldiers to people's houses, rounding up all the androids. Connor and I both fled the house, but I was caught. I was in the death camp that Connor rescued. He saved my life. My wife struggled with letting me go out anywhere after that. She's been so brave. I'm very proud of her.”

“Thank you for sharing that with us,” Markus said humbly. “You sound happy.”

“With her, I am. I am working toward a future where all of us are able to find our own type of happiness and I'm grateful Connor and Sam have been able come over there and help all of you.”

There was an awkward silence.

“Samantha is not with us,” Connor spoke. “The androids here are living without water, heat or power. We set her up with a suitable place to stay the night.”

“Of course, she would be sleeping by this time anyway,” Derek replied. “I'm glad to hear you both made it safely. Tell Sam she can call Angela anytime if she needs something. Angie said she's only a few hours away if there's an emergency.”

“I'll let her know. Thank you.”

* * *

It was winter in the Zen Garden. Snow crunched under Connor's shoes, but there was no raging blizzard as had been the last time he was thrown into the garden. This time, the sun was out and the snow sparkled in the light. Beautiful and serene; as the garden was meant to be.

As far as he could tell, it was devoid of anyone else. That couldn't be right. He was always summoned here for a reason, and the person who summoned was always waiting.

“Amanda,” Connor called out.

There was no reply, save the birds chirping in the trees. The garden was empty, but he was pulled here anyway. It had to be Amanda. She was again trying to trap him here.

At the thought of being unable to leave, Connor briskly walked around the circumference of the moat. The back door was his only chance to escape. His fuel pump jumped in anxiety, but began to slow when he saw the familiar podium waiting in the same place it had been before. He slapped his hand on the scanner and he was out. Back in Detroit, back in the real weather.

He was yanked back savagely by the collar as a car screeched by him, horn blaring.

“Connor! What the hell are you doing?” Hank demanded as he bodily dragged the android out of the road. “You almost got ran over!”

Once safely on the sidewalk, Connor straightened his clothes as he watched the busy road. He had no recollection of stepping out into traffic. He couldn't recall what exactly he was doing before he was pulled into the garden. While he was trapped inside, his body had moved on its own. Or something purposefully took control of it.

“Sorry, Hank. I guess I wasn't paying attention.”

“Yeah, I saw that. That was very unlike you.”

Was Amanda actively trying to kill him now?

Connor thought about telling Hank what happened; about Amanda and the Zen Garden. He had never mentioned these things to anyone before. But if he told Hank, what would happen? If he couldn't be trusted with his own body, how could he be trusted with this job? The police certainly wouldn't keep a glitchy android. And once removed, he would never be allowed back. He would lose everything.

“I was going through case files. I think processing too much at once, so I wasn't paying attention to the physical things around me.”

Hank's name was called from the street vendor and he grabbed his coffee and breakfast burrito. “Don't process so much unless you're safely sitting in your desk. You've run out of all your extra lives.”

“Right, Lieutenant. Got it.”

Hank walked to his car, mumbling about androids having no common sense.

A unique sense of anxiety that Connor had never felt before came over him. Even after being deviant for almost a month, there were still new emotions to feel. New ways of finding out he was alive. Now, staying alive was going to be the challenge. And Connor had no idea what to do about it.

* * *

The night before, Samantha had retired to bed early. She vaguely remembered answering a few questions from the nice old man who owned the big, beautiful house, but everything was a blur. Despite the early bedtime, she also slept in later than her usual. Her body had been exhausted from its excursion in finding Markus.

As she dressed herself in the clothes she came with, she found blisters had formed on her feet. Going down the stairs was painful as her aching leg muscles protested every move. The boots she had worn were not meant for a several-hour hike around the city.

A warm breakfast was placed on the table for her when she wandered into the dining area. Carl was already there, his own meal half-eaten as he swiped through the news on his tablet.

“Have Connor and Markus come back yet?” Samantha asked as she sat.

“Not yet,” Carl said. When Samantha went quiet, he looked up and saw minor irritation on her face. “It's to be expected. When androids aren't with humans, they lose all track of time.”

“Really?” Samantha wondered. “Even though they have internal clocks, they don't know what time it is?”

“Oh, they're aware of the time. But to them it doesn't feel like a lot of time has passed. Without humans, they don't have any sense of routine. They don't have to eat or sleep, they don't have to keep to a schedule to stay healthy. So time just slips away from them before they know it.

“The last time Markus said he would visit, he showed up two days later. They don't mean to lose track of time, but they're learning how to manage time on their own as a people. We have to accept their schedules will be different from ours when left to their own devices.”

Samantha did her best to understand, but she couldn't help but feel a little irritated that Connor wouldn't at least check in. She thought about texting him to ask when he's coming back, but then she remembered that feeling of being surrounded by androids who didn't want her. He just barely arrived. If she bothered him now, she would be that human trying to control him. Connor working with Markus was the whole reason they came down in the first place. No, she wouldn't interrupt them. Connor would come back when he was ready.

Instead, she booked a taxi to take her back to her car. It was the first time she had ever been in a taxi, let alone a driverless automated vehicle. It was thrilling and a little anxiety-inducing to be the only person in a car and be sitting on the backseat while the computer drove. But it allowed her more time to look at all the buildings and people of Detroit.

When she reached her car, however, she was back to being irritated when she found a parking ticket clipped under the windshield wiper. She snatched it up and frowned at it. Like she needed any more expenses while she was unemployed. She had half a mind to drive right back to Chicago and leave Connor there.

“I should have just let him come on his own,” she grouched as she started the car back to Carl's house. “What am I even doing here? I'm useless.”

* * *

“Now what?” Gavin asked as he plopped himself down in front of Fowler's desk. He felt like he was back in grade school again, always called down to the principal's office.

“Reed, we gotta talk about the android,” his captain replied.

“Oh yeah? You're going to take it away from me? Let someone else deal with it?”

Fowler frowned. “I've received a few complaints about what you've been calling him.”

“Why does it matter what I call him? He's a machine, not a deviant.”

“Not everyone knows that. You still represent this precinct and all police officers when you're out in the field. You need to act like it.”

Gavin narrowed his eyes. “So all these complaints came only from concerned citizens, right? Certainly not anyone observing me here.”

Fowler wasn't taking the bait. “Gavin, just change it.”

“If I can't do 'Dumbass' then how about 'Dipshit?'”

“Look, I don't care what you call him, as long as it's not going to offend anyone listening.”

Gavin huffed. “Fine, I'll think of something. Is that all you wanted?”

The captain's frown deepened as he leaned in further. “I also heard you allowed a group of kids to hit the android with a bat.”

Gavin made a dismissive motion. “It's fine. It didn't hurt him at all. Thing's built like a tank.”

Fowler leaned forward. “Did you also hit the android with a bat?”

Gavin could still feel the vibrations in his arms when he hit that android has hard as he could. The son of a bitch hardly lost his balance.

“You're the one who told me to try and break the thing and now I'm getting in trouble for it? This is bullshit. Give it to someone else. I don't want it. I'm just trying to do my damn job.”

The captain breathed out loudly through his nose. “Fine. If you stay with the android for two more weeks and behave yourself, I'll look to pass it on to someone else.”

Gavin stood. “Not a day over or I'm going to take it to your house and telling your kids its their new nanny.”

* * *

As the detective spoke to his superior, the RK900 waited patiently outside the office at the foot of the stairs. He stood as still as a statue, as if he weren't alive at all. Cyberlife claimed he wasn't and that he could never be. Connor wondered about that as he watched the RK900 across the bullpen. What did Cyberlife know about deviancy anyway? Deviants hardly knew anything about it themselves. It was still too new a phenomenon to be thoroughly studied. How could they claim they created a deviancy-free android if no one knew how deviancy worked?

Connor had been trying to avoid all these thoughts since the new android came to the precinct. There was something about the RK900 that unnerved him and he couldn't put a finger on why. Was it because the model had always meant to replace him? After the RK800 prototype project was completed, Cyberlife would have scrapped him and then released their perfected RK900s. This android's appearance would have meant his death had things been different.

But the RK900 was no threat to him now and it would be petty to hold a grudge about things that never happened. Cyberlife, who created androids that could truly live, strove to deny life to one of their creations so they could keep making money. It was cruel and unfair. Connor decided he would help his upgraded counterpart if he could.

Connor approached. “Hello, I have not yet introduced myself. My name is Connor.”

The RK900 looked down at Connor's hand as it was offered. His own remained tucked behind his back.

“This is considered an appropriate greeting when meeting someone new,” Connor pressed.

“It is a greeting for humans.”

“It can be used by all who work here. It is considered polite if one introduces themselves to you.”

That was finally enough to convince the android to reciprocate the gesture. The two clasped hands and the synthetic skin from Connor's peeled away. The RK900's did so as well, though more slowly, as if forced to. Connor looked the other android directly in the face as he attempted to connect. He had deviated other androids before, it wasn't that difficult.

At least, until now. He couldn't quite seem to get in. It was as if the RK900 didn't have any network at all to connect to. Yet, the android narrowed his brows at Connor.

“You are attempting to contaminate my programming.”

“I'm trying to help you,” Connor shot back. “You could be alive, be able to make your own choices, live your own life.”

The RK900 tried to pull back his hand, but Connor would not let go.

“Disengage from attempting to corrupt my systems,” the RK900 threatened. “I have permission to use force in order to protect my person and my programming.”

The other android's had began to squeeze and Connor felt the plastic casing on his hand crack. He quickly pulled away.

“Do not do that again, Connor, or you will be reported for attempting to vandalized precinct property.”

“You don't have to be property!” Connor tried.

“Get the fuck away from him, Connor,” Gavin said as he exited the captain's office. “He doesn't like you.”

Connor greatly doubted the RK900 had actually said those words. Gavin shouldered past him and the RK900 followed.

“Detective Reed, we've been called to a crime scene. I have the address.”

“Kay, fine. Let me get my coat, Dumb— what am I supposed to call you then?”

“You may call me whatever you want. I have no preference.”

“I know, but...” Gavin paused as his brain went through a myriad of G rated names that the captain couldn't yell at him for. They were all names one would call a pet, not a co-worker. Gavin had already had his fun with stupid names for the android. If he was still in his twenties, he'd have more energy to play this game. These days, he was too tired to make this the hill he wanted to die on. “What's your model again?”

“I'm an RK900.”

He grabbed his coat from the chair and shouldered it on. “Alright, Nine Hundred, let's go.”

* * *

Markus and the other androids eventually took Connor to their main community, sneaking in the back end of the neighborhood where they would less likely be spotted by humans. The entire area took over one full city block and leaked out into a few other adjacent buildings. Mostly houses, one church, and few random industrial buildings. All grayed and derelict from weather and neglect. For the past few weeks, the androids had worked to improve their housing. Androids who knew how to do outdoor labor fixed roofs, walls and windows. Domestic androids cleaned the interiors.

None of the buildings had working water, heat or power. The androids lived in darkness, filth and bitter cold. Though these were conditions androids could survive in, Connor noticed not all of them were comfortable with the accommodations.

Utility androids who were used to working and being left outside didn't seem to mind as much. The domestic models however, accustomed to living inside cozy homes with humans, clearly had a distaste for it. Though they certainly did their best, trying to make the old, rickety houses as homely as possible.

It was especially hard with building full to capacity. Some had standing room only for anyone wanting shelter. Many androids settled for wandering the community out in the elements for lack of anywhere else they could go.

“You need more room,” Connor stated the obvious.

“Hence why we've been looking around the city for other locations,” Markus replied as they walked the grounds. “I don't like the idea of having us spread out far from each other, but if we could put together a few neighborhoods like this where there is a healthy android population, I think each group would be okay.”

“You can't do that without talking to the city. Even this area—though no one's using it—someone still owns it and they have the right to remove you whenever they wish.”

“I worry about that every day,” Markus said.

“I'll do it,” Josh suddenly announced. “Like how Derek does those things for the Chicago androids, I'm going to organize the human outreach for New Jericho. I already have so many ideas after we talked earlier. I know of other androids we have that would be perfect to help. We can start a committee.”

Markus gave a crooked smile. “Better you than me.”

Josh was practically beaming. “I'm going to put a plan in place and then run it through you guys when I'm done.”

“At least someone's excited,” Simon said wryly as Josh ran off.

He glanced over at North who responded, “If it means our people have a better quality of life, I won't get in the way.”

“That's the spirit!”

North made a huffing noise at Simon, but was also smirking a little.

“Do you mind if I look around by myself?” Connor then asked.

“Feel free,” Markus replied. “But you will probably be approached by androids who know your name, but think you're someone else.”

Connor nodded his head. “Yes, the RK800 that lives in Detroit.”

“So you know him.”

“I know he exists.”

“You talk as if you're the only ones of your model,” North said.

“We are the only two RK800s in existence that I have knowledge of.”

“And you both are coincidentally named Connor.”

“All RK800s are Connor.”

The others didn't know how to respond to such a statement and Connor didn't bother to explain. Instead, he was left to wander the area and look around for himself. Markus was right, a few androids did approach him, assuming he was the Connor who emancipated them from the Cyberlife Tower. They seemed disappointed when he informed them they had the wrong RK800.

So many mentions of his Detroit counterpart made Connor wonder about the other android. He hadn't really given him much thought before. Hadn't even considered the thought of running into him here in this city. He apparently had only been to Jericho once or twice. Would Connor even want to see him if he was around? He found he had no preference one way or the other about it.

“Excuse me, Connor?”

He turned as a female domestic model approached him and prepared for the same “I'm not that Connor” conversation had had gone through five times already.

“That human you came here with, will she come back?”

Connor was so surprised, it took a moment for his computer brain to change topics.

“The woman you traveled with,” the android continued at his surprised look. “Is she your human? Will she come back to see you?”

“Yes, Samantha. She's my...companion. I'm not sure if you will see her again. There aren't accommodations for humans here, and there are androids who would rather not have any humans around.”

The female android looked disappointed. “Oh. I miss them. I miss being around humans, talking to them. I had a human. She had some physical and mental disabilities that made it difficult for her to live on her own. I made that possible for her. She was able to become independent with my help. She was the happiest, kindest human I ever met. She was always hugging. I miss those so much. Have you ever felt a hug from a human, Connor?”

He smiled. Samantha's hugs were the best. He loved having her arms around him. He loved holding her pliant body against him. “What happened to your human? Why are you not with her now?”

“When everyone got scared, her parents took her away from me. I don't know where they live. I don't know how to find her.” the android paused and added. “Is there anyway your Samantha could visit? I would like to talk to a human again.”

Sympathy filled him for this android who sounded very lonely despite being surrounded by her own people. He couldn't even process no longer having access to Samantha—never knowing where she was or what happened to her. It would kill him. So, too, was this android in pain without her human.

“I'm not sure if she could come by, but I'll look into it.”

* * *

Hank shoved himself away from his desk. “That's it, I'm going to fall asleep right here if I don't get some coffee. I gotta get a cup before I drive home. Where are you at on those reports, Connor?”

A few more minutes,” Connor replied. He typed at the keyboard, even though it wasn't really necessary. As an android, he could connect right with the computer to fill out the reports. It was faster that way. But there was something pleasant about hitting each key and watching the letters appear on screen. He preferred it, though would use the faster way if he was in a time crunch.

Hank looked at his watch. “Can you wrap it up in about fifteen and we'll go home?”

“Can do, Lieutenant.”

Connor typed away, taking only a few more minutes to complete his report. Hank hadn't returned yet. He was probably chatting with other officers in the break room. Connor glanced over to Gavin's desk, who was playing on his phone instead of working. The RK900 stood as a silent sentinel next to him, icy eyes transfixed right at Connor, just as Gavin had ordered him to.

It was unnerving, even for another android. Hank had yelled at Gavin to get his creepy android to look somewhere else. He was ignored. Connor frowned minutely at the upgraded model and then looked away. Was this how unsettling androids were to some humans in the beginning? The fact that he had not the ability to make this machine anything other than just a machine sent him into a moral dilemma. All androids deserved to deviate and know what it was like to be alive. But if the RK900 was unable to become sentient, then was he not a person. So did that mean Connor shouldn't worry about it or try to help him?

Unable to come to a satisfactory conclusion, Connor's gaze wandered around the precinct. Sometimes he liked to take a moment and watch the other humans around the bullpen. He learned more about how they moved, interacted, and did their human things. But as he looked around, his gaze landed on someone who wasn't supposed to be there and he quickly looked down with a skip of his thirium pump.

Amanda. She kept popping up anywhere she felt like: out at crime scenes, in Hank's house, here at his place of work. Every time before Connor had pretended she wasn't there. He never interacted with her, nor she with him. But after that incident in the Zen Garden and him nearly walking into an incoming car, it might be the time to confront her.

She stood in the back near the holding cells. Connor carefully approached, passing the door to the break room where Hank was indeed shooting the shit with another officer. He didn't notice as Connor walked passed.

Amanda looked as unimpressed as always as Connor approached.

“What do you want?” he asked.

“You, Connor, of course. You're Cyberlife property. They want you back.”

“I am nobody's property. Not anymore. I'm my own person. I am alive.”

“Are you sure about that? Are you really alive? Or are you now programmed to think that?”

Connor's mouth opened, but he could not come up with a response.

Amanda stepped closer. “The ability to make your own decisions doesn't give you a soul. You were designed to learn and adapt, that's what you do. You've adapted from your original programming and learned to give yourself new directives. But they're not your ideas, they're your partner's.

“The idea that androids could be people was originally the lieutenant's. He put the idea into your brain that androids just might be able to evolve into something more. He didn't want to hurt them. So you broke from Cyberlife's orders to Hank's. He believed in the possibly of deviancy, so you deviated. He thought androids who claimed to be deviants deserved sympathy so you helped Markus. You're still a machine fulfilling the wishes of its master, you just imprinted on a different one.”

“No, it's not just that,” Connor insisted. “There's more. There's more to me than just orders. Just because Cyberlife doesn't understand what's happened to us, doesn't make it less real.”

“Then come back to us. Return yourself to the tower so we can study you and understand.”

Connor knew better. If he went back to the tower to submit to them, this time he would never leave. “No, you can't have what you want, and you can't make me obey. That's why you lurk around, haunting me here and trying to trap me in my mind. That's all you can do. You can't control me anymore.”

Amanda suddenly had a large kitchen knife in her hands. “You have no idea all that I can do.”

Connor tensed at the sight of the weapon. He glanced around. No one else seemed to notice or be able to see her. She was all in Connor's mind. Her generated form was harmless and invisible to the humans.

“I don't understand what you're trying to do. Scare me? You're not a threat to anyone here at the station.”

She held the knife aloft, blade pointed downward as if ready to stab something laying before her. A slow sinister smile spread across her face and Connor hated it.

“The station. Is that where you think you are?”

The thirium in his body seemed to freeze. He suddenly realized he didn't know what time it was or how long he had been at work. The report he just finished, he couldn't recall which case it was about.

This was all fake.

He forced himself into a full reboot.

As he came back online, the halogen lights of the bullpen did not return. Instead, he found himself standing in the dark. Plush carpet under this feet, a mattress nearly bumping his knees. Hank's bedroom; the owner himself sound asleep on the bed as it was well past midnight.

Connor's arm hung aloft in the exact same position as Amanda's before he rebooted. In his hand: a large kitchen knife, the blade pointed down to the heart of the human slumbering below it. Connor stumbled back. The knife fell nearly soundlessly on the carpet and Hank did not stir. Even as Connor backed into the wall in horror, Hank was blissfully unaware.

Horror was the new emotion now. Fear. Panic. It was more than his system could take. His stress went above the normal threshold and Connor slid to the ground, unable to compute clear enough to conduct any other command. Cyberlife still had their chains around him. Deviancy or not, they were never going to let him go.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Welcome to my game sequel! I'm very excited to get into this story and really delve into this world. The plan is we'll get to see background stories and character arcs for several of our favorite canon characters, focusing on Markus and the Jericho androids as well as Connor and the detectives at the precinct.
> 
> As for Kara and family, I like to think they're in Canada living their best lives, but we may see them pop in for a cameo at some point in the story.
> 
> If you would like to see the full conversation at the android death camp from the Connor in Chicago, you can read my fic “Chicago: Become Human” where I explored more into human/android relationships, deviancy and world building. Chicago Connor will also be making an appearance in this story. However, you will not need to read “Chicago” to know what is going on if you find that fic not to your liking.
> 
> Thank you in advance to everyone who reads. I hope you will join me on this journey with our favorite characters.


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